Zara spoke of gruelling Strictly days with Graziano that ‘put her through pain again and again’

Right now, everyone is talking about Graziano being fired from Strictly Come Dancing after bosses of the show viewed footage of his training sessions with former partner, Zara McDermott.

In the last week, pro dancer Graziano has been fired from the show after allegations he spat at, kicked and hit Zara McDermott during their rehearsals. Graziano made a statement about the claims, saying he “deeply regretted” what had happened, adding “intense passion and determination to win might have affected my training regime.”

Zara McDermott has also released a statement where she spoke of  how her “experience inside the training room was very different” and the videos of rehearsals are “incredibly distressing to watch.”

At the time of the pair competing on the show together, Zara regularly updated followers on social media of their progress, giving updates of how their training was coming along. It was clear from those that she was being worked hard, talking about gruelling “13 hour” sessions which left her exhausted, “in pain” and sometimes with “bleeding feet” from so much dancing.

via Instagram

In one clip, Zara can be seen on the floor sleeping after begging Graziano for a break. “I think I’ve clocked around 50k steps already today with this routine,” she said, before asking Graziano: “Give me a break please.”

Posting about another week of a tough training, Zara said: “Thank you to my partner for everything this week, for all the hours you’ve put into teaching me so much… the 13 hour training days. Thank you for your patience (I know I’m not the quickest learner when it comes to dancing).”

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She likened their rehearsals to “doing cardio for 10 hours a day” in a further post, and said she didn’t very often take breaks. In one video, after asking for some time out, Graziano told Zara: “This is your break. Honestly, this is your break. After you’ve finished this we go again and again. So, count this, 30 seconds of story minus another 30 seconds and then we go again.”

Speaking in an interview, she added that one point rehearsals left her with bleeding feet. “Graziano told me not to go for the heels but to dance in men’s shoes at the beginning,” she explained. “When I complained they weren’t working and I needed to take them off, he kept insisting, ‘No, no you’re fine’. After finally removing them, I showed him my bleeding feet and said, ‘I told you I am not being dramatic!'”

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A post shared by Zara McDermott (@zara_mcdermott)

After Zara and Graziano were voted off the show, he posted about how Zara “went through pain” and “never complained.” In a post about her, Graziano said: “You are what Strictly is all about, with humbleness, zero ego, rehearsing 12 hours per day. You went through pain, lots of .. AGAIN AGAIN AGAIN!! Never complained, always pushing yourself to learn more! YOU DID IT!”

Graziano’s sacking came after Strictly bosses viewed “distressing” footage from his training sessions with Zara, that “reduced them to tears.” A source said: “As soon as it [the footage] was viewed, it was game over for Graziano. His Strictly career was dead and buried and there was never any way back. Everyone’s stomachs just dropped when the footage became available, and our hearts went out to Zara who clearly had been suffering in silence. The key then was to act promptly, which they [the BBC] did.”

The BBC released a statement which confirmed Graziano would no longer be in the professional dancer lineup for the show, and Zara is “cooperating with the investigation”.

Related stories recommended by this writer:

• Graziano to ‘sue the BBC’ as he ‘flees the UK’ amid Zara McDermott and Strictly claims

• Strictly’s Graziano is ‘in bits’ and ‘being monitored 24/7’ following Zara McDermott claims

• ‘Stomachs dropped’: Details of Zara and Graziano footage that ‘left Strictly staff in tears’

Featured image via Instagram.