Kristina Rihanoff has revealed the reality of filming Strictly Come Dancing.

The Russian dancer, 46, who starred on the entertainment show for six years has weighed in on the current misconduct probes and believes celebrities should be given chaperones during rehearsals.

Speaking to BBC News, Kristina admitted rehearsals were often 'frustrating' and 'pressurised,' adding that celebrities would feel more 'at ease that there will be somebody watching and observing the situations'.

The dancer - who appeared on the show from 2009 until 2015 - said that with the chaperones in place, potential hopefuls would now 'be feeling a little bit more comfortable' to sign up to the show.

She shared her thoughts after professional dancer Graziano Di Prima was sacked after claims he hit and kicked his celebrity partner Zara McDermott.

The distraught dance star fled home to Italy to be with his mother, his wife, and the rest of the family after losing his job over claims he kicked, hit, and spat at Zara McDermott during training.

Graziano is now staying in a remote family farmhouse surrounded by vineyards where he has been a virtual recluse since the bombshell news of his sacking broke.

The probe was sparked by allegations of 'bullying' from 2023 celebrity contestant Amanda Abbington' which resulted in her dance partner Giovanni Pernice - who denies the claims - leaving the show.

Posting on Instagram to confirm his departure, Graziano wrote: 'I deeply regret the events that led to my departure from Strictly. My intense passion and determination to win might have affected my training regime.

'Respecting the BBC HR process, I understand it's best for the show that I step away.'

He continued: 'While there are aspects of this story involving external influences that I can't discuss at this time, I remain committed to being strong for my family and friends.

'I wish the Strictly family and the BBC nothing but success in the future.'

He concluded the post: 'I also want to thank everyone who has supported my career, both professionally and personally. When the time is right, I will share my story.'

Earlier in the week, Kristina spoke on Lorraine and said that during her time on the show the vetting procedure of prospective professionals' experience and character was rigorous.

But she shared concerns that those procedures are not as thorough now, and questioned the teaching ability of current professional dancers on the show.

'All of these situations are very distressing now for a lot of Strictly fans to read and for someone who worked on the show for eight years, for me,' Kristina said. 

'It's very disturbing, it's very upsetting. That statement from Zara for me as a woman, was heartbreaking. That she actually suffered so much stress and abuse.'

Kristina said that when she applied to be on the show in the noughties, she went through a serious vetting process.

The dancer flew from the US to be interviewed for 45 minutes on camera, and had to demonstrate her teaching style for the Cha Cha Cha and Waltz using a runner as a pretend student. 

Kristina - who is engaged to her former celebrity partner Ben Cohen - then returned to America and filed huge amounts of paperwork detailing her certification regarding various dance styles, as well as teaching qualifications and character profiles. 

'I think this process isn't there anymore,' she said. 

She had 10 years of experience teaching dance by the time she was being hired for the show, something she feels may be lacking in the current cast. 

Kristina said: 'All of the pros from my years on the show, we all came from competitive backgrounds. We all were teaching - and teaching for some time - so we had that experience of teaching people.'

She said that while some of the professionals on the show now might be great dancers, the job is mainly to teach in a way that a celebrity can understand and that helps them flourish.

'That is the main job, not that you can stand on your head and do cartwheels in a group number,' she added. 

'That's all well and good but at the end of the day it is about teaching ability and I think some of the pros who are very young, they probably don't have the teaching experience.' 

After months of being bombarded with calls from agents begging for their clients to be given a place in the Saturday night favourite, Stefania Aleksander, the show's long-serving booker, has usually signed up at least six or seven celebrities, whose names inevitably find their way into the public domain.

This time round, however, it's been quite a struggle, the Mail revealed on Tuesday – despite it being Strictly's 20th anniversary year.

Insiders at the corporation said they are having problems recruiting females in particular, especially high-profile ones - a first in its rich history - amid the fall out from probes into behaviour.

'Usually it is the women who are more keen,' a television executive connected to the series said. 'Not only is it an opportunity to get dressed up but appearing on Strictly is also much more fortuitous for females' careers than men's.

'But word has got around that it isn't exactly a walk in the park, so getting them has a been a lot more challenging.'  

The show, according to inside sources, is in 'meltdown' and the upper echelons of both Strictly and the wider BBC have been locked in meetings over the weekend as they attempt to work out how they can survive the scandal.

One said: 'There have been many conversations about how this is dealt with but the immediate problem is this year's cast... There has been lots of swearing and frustration.'

The scale of the crisis is illustrated by the fact that – by this time last year – Zara, former newsreader Angela Rippon and TV presenter Angela Scanlon had already signed up for the show. Finalist Layton Williams had also agreed to appear and Les Dennis was on the verge of doing so. All these names had leaked into the public domain but this year no high-profile female's name has yet been mooted.

'It is starting to feel a little bit dire,' says the insider. 'It was supposed to be smashing this year, it's such a big series. There is huge pressure.'

In a bid to generate interest and make the show more appealing to would-be contestants, the BBC yesterday unveiled a three-point plan to make rehearsals safer.

From now on, a production team member will be present during training, contestants and professionals alike will be given additional support via welfare producers and 'further training' will be given to the production team and crew.

The move was announced as Zara broke her silence on the scandal, which not only saw Graziano hit and kick her but repeatedly verbally abuse her.