Former Strictly Come Dancing contestant Zara McDermott has returned to the show as a ballroom guest following the exit of her dance partner Graziano Di Prima.
In July the Italian dancer revealed his departure from the BBC One dancing competition following reports about his treatment of reality star McDermott, whom he danced with in 2023.
After Saturday night’s show former Love Island star McDermott, who sat in the audience alongside her boyfriend Sam Thompson, posted a photo to Instagram which showed the couple had worn Pete Wicks-themed outfits to the show. Wicks is a contestant in this year’s series.
On her story McDermott wrote: “We wanted to do something fun for Pete considering he was there in the audience for me this time last year with my face all over his shirt.”
In a follow up post she wrote: “Such an incredible evening. What an amazing first performance and I’m so glad I could be there to support you!!! Didn’t he smash it?!?!?!.”
In July, responding to “media reports”, the 27-year-old wrote in a social media post that she had feared opening up about her time on the show due to the possibility of “public backlash” and “victim shaming”.
She also said that she had spoken “candidly” to the BBC about her time on the programme.
In an interview with the Daily Mail, Di Prima said he “didn’t deliberately hurt anyone” and he did not know where McDermott’s allegations had stemmed from.
There have also been allegations about the teaching methods of former Strictly professional dancer Giovanni Pernice, which he denies.
Before the show’s 20th anniversary series the BBC announced it would introduce new welfare measures, including a chaperone who will be present “at all times” during rehearsals.
The results of an investigation launched by the corporation following allegations made against Pernice have not yet been published.
The series’ first live show for 2024 saw JLS member JB Gill and professional Amy Dowden storm to the top of the leaderboard with 31 points.
Wicks, who hosts podcast Staying Relevant with Thompson, and his dance partner Jowita Przystal scored 17 points from the judges.
Strictly continues next Saturday on BBC One.
