Celebrity agent Melanie Blake has claimed she was sexually assaulted by a Strictly Come Dancing professional at a rehearsal in the latest controversy to hit the show.
The top publicist revealed how she had been stood with a married professional dancer who told her he wanted to ‘bang’ a woman dancing in a ‘skimpy costume’.
Ms Blake alleged that the unnamed man then put ‘my hand on his crotch to show me he had an erection and also brag about the size of it asking me what I thought’.
In a lengthy post on X, Ms Blake detailed a series of incidents she witnessed in rehearsals, including that there was ‘immediate ageism’ if a female celebrity was aged over 40 – with professionals saying they wished they had ‘not got an old one’.
The 47-year-old added that one professional was ‘so rough with our client that she was injured before they even began and thus couldn’t enjoy or do her best’.
Ms Blake spoke out amid a storm of allegations about the culture and treatment of contestants on the programme, which has seen the BBC’s director general apologise to contestants who have had an experience that ‘hasn’t been wholly positive’.
Celebrity agent Melanie Blake claims she was sexually assaulted by a Strictly professional
Strictly Come Dancing professionals and choreographers posed for a photograph on Monday to mark the first day of rehearsals for the upcoming series of the flagship BBC programme
Strictly Come Dancing professional dancers and celebrities on the show on October 21, 2023
In a 771-word post on X on Monday night, Ms Blake began by saying: ‘So I wasn’t going to say this but with all these Strictly Come Dancing revelations spitting [sic] opinion, I feel it’s time tell you my unbiased experiences of when I was with celebrities I represented who appeared in the show.
‘I won’t name them as it’s up to them if they want to go public but I was backstage and present for many incidents so I know what I am about to say is true.’
She added that there was a ‘massive difference’ between the attitudes of the ‘professionals v the celebrities’ on Strictly and Dancing On Ice (DOI), with the latter being ‘obviously much more dangerous and also less high profile’.
Ms Blake said: ‘No one ever had a bad experience on DOI – where again I attended tons of the shows, was backstage, went to photoshoots and training etc as I did with Strictly.
‘It’s well known I’m an agent who gets way more involved with their clients than most and has/had a lot of access to the shows. Most agents only attend the actual performance.
‘So whilst no one ever had anything bad to say about it DOI nor did I ever see or hear anything negative on that show – I did, many times on Strictly.’
She then went onto list a series of events or trends on Strictly that she ‘personally witnessed’.
The first was professional dancers ‘being introduced to their celeb partners being absolutely arrogant and saying they’d either never heard of them – and I’m sure they knew who they had because the ‘meet’ VT is about the celebs surprise at which pro they got – not the other way round – so they clearly couldn’t even be bothered to read the bios’.
She said the second was ‘immediate ageism if the female celeb was over 40 – actively saying they wished they had ‘not got an old one’ and ‘I’ll never get her to the final’ – all within in ear shot of the celeb and me, which of course was a massive confidence dent before they’d even began.’
The third was ‘trying to get voted out as fast as possible’ – if the professional dancer didn’t like the partner they had or believed they would not make the final – ‘so that they then could go and do their own work – ie photo shoots and promo about them so effectively ruining the celeb’s chance’.
She also said in her fourth point that some dancers would be ‘openly annoyed at being voted in because the celeb was popular despite not in their opinion being ‘any good’.’
Ms Blake’s fifth point related to ‘choosing songs and routines that were dull again to sabotage the votes’.
She continued: ‘Technically they are given a song but actually you can change it if you think it’s not going to be good – something I did myself several times which resulted in the client staying in when the original song would have seen them go out.’
The sixth related to ‘one incredibly high profile pro being so rough with our client that she was injured before they even began and thus couldn’t enjoy or do her best – same pro wanted to be out to focus on his career’.
Writing about the sexual assault incident as her seventh point, Ms Blake described a ‘married pro dancer who I was stood with watching someone in a skimpy costume rehearse’.
She said she listened to him ‘tell me how much he wanted to “bang her” and then putting my hand on his crotch to show me he had an erection and also brag about the size of it, asking me what I thought.’
Ms Blake added: ‘I could go on but you get the picture.’
Concluding, she wrote: ‘My take is that there was / is a culture where the pro dancer had free reign to do as they like.
‘I want to stress this is only the experience I personally witnessed of certain pros and I am sure loads of them would never believe [sic] like this but all of the above is true and happened – ageism and ego were paramount – followed by arrogance and inappropriateness.’
She continued: ‘On the plus side I have many happy memories of watching Bruce (Forsyth) rehearse – he used to come and talk to the audience – Tess (Daly) was always lovely – as were the producers.
‘Why no one including me has revealed these things earlier is probably because we don’t want to shatter the illusion of a show so many love.
‘But now I’ve heard what I witnessed wasn’t isolated – I feel it’s only fair to the celebs currently wanting to be believed – that my own actual experience backs up their accounts.
‘Let’s hope this brings a cultural change of respect for the celebrity contestants who go in wanting to give it their all and enjoy the whole experience in the future. The judges were always lovely btw.’
Strictly Come Dancing judges (left to right) Craig Revel Horwood, Motsi Mabuse, Shirley Ballas and Anton Du Beke during their appearance on the live show on October 21, 2023
Claudia Winkleman and Tess Daly during their appearance on Strictly on October 14 last year
MailOnline has contacted the BBC for comment on Ms Blake’s allegations.
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The flagship BBC One show has been rocked by a string of allegations in recent months, which has seen professional dancers Giovanni Pernice and Graziano Di Prima step down.
Yesterday the BBC’s director-general Tim Davie warned that the ‘line should never be crossed’, adding: ‘I’m very sorry that anyone has had an experience on Strictly that hasn’t been wholly positive.
‘I think that is something we do reflect on, and I’m sorry about that. If someone feels there was something wrong or they wanted to talk about their experience, then, of course, we want them to raise that with us and be in no doubt, we will take it seriously.’
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Mr Davie added: ‘Of course, alongside the fun and entertainment, there will be a degree of competitiveness, hard work, and a will to do well. That’s part of what makes this show.
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‘But there are limits and the line should never be crossed. We will never tolerate unacceptable behaviour of any kind.’
Asked if he is confident the show will return in September, Mr Davie said: ‘I am assured by the robust actions we have taken in terms of the changes we have made… that we are in a position to deliver a very good season this year and that has been my focus. With that assurance, I’m looking forward to the next season.’
His comments came a day after Strictly professionals were photographed at their first rehearsal for the upcoming series.
The picture, taken at the show’s training studio in north London, was posted on the official Strictly Instagram account with the caption: ‘Day one of #Strictly2024 rehearsals done! We can’t wait to share our new pro routines with everyone soon.’
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The picture included Aljaz Skorjanec, who is returning to the show after a three-year absence, and Amy Dowden, who missed last year’s series after being diagnosed with breast cancer.
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Keen-eyed fans were also quick to spot that couple Kai Widdrington and Nadiya Bychkova were kept apart in the photo, after announcing the end of their relationship last week.
In what could be seen as a swipe at the show, former contestant Amanda Abbington was also pictured wearing a hoodie that said: ‘You’re only as cool as you treat people.’
It was revealed in May that the Sherlock actress, 50, and two other contestants had accused their former partner Mr Pernice of bullying them during their time on the dance show.
An inquiry is ongoing as the Italian professional, who will not return for this year’s series, vows to clear his name.
Former Strictly contestant Will Bayley said he suffered serious injury while performing a jump in rehearsals for the programme, and has claimed there was ‘no duty of care’
Last week it emerged that Mr Di Prima had also been axed from the show following allegations that he kicked, hit and spat at reality TV star Zara McDermott during rehearsals last year.
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This week Paralympian Will Bayley became the latest star to speak out about his time on the show.
The 36-year-old, who was paired with Janette Manrara in 2019, said he was left with life-changing injuries after being made to redo a jump in a routine.
Yesterday he criticised the show’s duty of care, telling BBC Breakfast: ‘If the BBC are brilliant enough to get people with disabilities in, they have to really support those people, make sure that they’re safe.
‘And it’s not like I’ve brought this up now… I’ve brought this up many times. It’s just because the other stories have come out that mine has actually got listened to.
‘If someone gets an injury like mine, it will affect them for the rest of their life. I’ll never get over this knee injury, I have to deal with that.’
Steve Backshall complained to the BBC about his professional partner Ola Jordan back in 2014
Strictly showrunners have said they are introducing new measures to ‘strengthen welfare and support’ for this year’s series such as training chaperones.
Yesterday Mr Davie said ‘the door is always open’ for people to suggest improvements but insisted: ‘We have the systems and processes in place and we are updating and changing it.’
He added: ‘There are clearly learnings – specifically with oversight of the training rooms – that we need to address. With the benefit of hindsight, you always say, ‘could we have done more?’