Strictly star blasts BBC for edited footage after ‘vile’ training video sparks outrage

James Jordan has criticised how he was edited in a Strictly Come Dancing clip after ‘vile’ footage resurfaced.

Following the recent probe into the treatment of celebrities taking part, a video from the fourth series featuring Georgina Bouzova and Jordan was posted on social media and quickly gained traction.

In 2006, actor Bouzova was partnered with professional dancer Jordan to compete for the Glitterball trophy, which was eventually won by Mark Ramprakash and Karen Hardy. During an episode of spin-off It Takes Two then-host Claudia Winkleman showed a compilation of the tough training, which has now been shared again on TikTok.

James has now addressed the video in a social media post, in which he denies any wrongdoing.

‘For those of you who have seen the edited BBC VT of me training with Georgina 18 years ago – yes I had hair once!!

‘But I just wanted to reassure you that footage was shot and edited together by the BBC team for transmission on It Takes Two 18 years ago in specific ways for the purposes of ENTERTAINMENT.

‘Many of the clips were not related to Georgina at all (they are not allowed to do that these days as it misrepresents what actually happened) but were included for the purpose of exaggeration.

https://www.instagram.com/p/C9iQTQcCgvx

‘The BBC thought it would be fun to put this VT together in the way they did. You can see Georgina laughing about it in the studio and in the clips… And I have never received ANY complaints from any of my celebrity dance partners in the 8 years I was on the show.’

He continued: ‘Obviously if I had genuinely upset anyone, that footage would NEVER have been allowed to be used in that way by the BBC themselves. The Producers loved to paint me as the bad guy and I played along…always a perfectionist …but I would never have deliberately upset anyone and pride myself on good friendships with my celebrity dance partners.

‘I strongly suggest that nobody attempts to link this edited BBC VT with the current alleged reports of abusive behaviour taking place behind the scenes by other Strictly professionals.

‘There is no comparison to be drawn between those awful allegations and the highly produced and exaggerated VT from the BBC archives that is featuring on social media. To be clear, I deplore bullying or abusiveness in the workplace,’ Jordan concluded.

In the clip circulating on the internet this week, Jordan, who was a part of the show from 2006-2013, stated: ‘I’m a force to be reckoned with.’

In the montage, the 46-year-old is shown throwing a chair and swearing at his partner while teaching her the routines. ‘I’ll kill you. Stand on your left leg,’ he remarked at one point.

‘I will push her to her limit. She will go through that pain, and as far as I’m concerned, tough luck. Unless she’s actually physically broken a rib, I don’t care. Unless her feet are bleeding I don’t care, if they are sore, dance through it,’ he stated to the camera.

When the former Casualty star asked James what he’d do if she made a mistake during a live show, he replied: ‘I’ll drag you across the floor then scream at you when we get off.’

After a brief return to the studio, Winkleman introduced the next ‘extraordinary’ montage, which showed the pair discussing Bouzova’s weight.

‘Basically, he thinks I’m a bit of a porker,’ Bouzova, 48, said with a laugh before footage was shown of James taking sweet treats away from his partner.

‘Do I look fat?’ Bouzova asked, to which Jordan responded with a ‘no’. However, when Bouzova then enquired if she needed to ‘lose a few pounds’, he quickly interjected with an affirmative ‘yes’.

‘I want her to look her best when she goes on TV and I’m sure deep down, she wants that too,’ he said. During another moment, Jordan called Bouzova a ‘lazy cow’ and said ‘come on fat belly’ to encourage her to continue with a sit-up exercise. Bouzova later claimed that they visited a supermarket together, and Jordan only allowed her to buy pineapple and ham.

‘It’s just not the right way to work,’ Bouzova concluded.

Some of the people who watched the video described the behaviour as ‘vile’, and ‘horrible’, and James’ comments as ‘extremely harsh’.

Jordan recently asked ‘what was going on’ at Strictly right now following the reports of Pernice and Di Prima’s exits, and X user Sarah responded by saying: ‘There’s some video footage going around on social media of your training sessions with Georgina Bouzova which some could argue was abusive, it’s just back then people got away with it.’

‘It’s too bad Strictly producers weren’t as vigilant in the early days,’ wrote Sid.

Others have suggested that his teaching methods were to enable Bouzova to go further in the competition.

‘All the professionals are strict and bossy but they have to be in order to go far in the show,’ commented Libby Horsman7.

Shells agreed, adding: ‘It shows how many people don’t understand how much discipline it takes to be a successful dancer’ and Stephanie wrote: ‘The thing is how can they get better without tough love and working hard.’

In recent months, both Graziano Di Prima and Giovanni Pernice have exited the BBC show, and the broadcaster has now announced that they are taking measures in order to introduce ‘practical steps’ to support welfare.

There have also been reports that there is a third ‘person of interest’ as they continue their investigation into the conduct of its stars.

Pernice’s most recent partner Amanda Abbington quit Strictly after five weeks last year and claimed to have been . She has since called Giovanni ‘tough’, ‘nasty’ and ‘brutal’, and it’s been reported more of his former partners also had issues with his training methods.

He ‘rejects any suggestion of abusive or threatening behaviour’, adding: ‘I look forward to clearing my name.’

Shortly after, it was claimed that Di Prima ‘kicked and hit’ Zara McDermott. Di Prima said he ‘deeply regrets the actions’ that led to his departure from Strictly.

‘My intense passion and determination to win might have affected my training regime,’ he admitted.

Zara posted a statement on Instagram, detailing how difficult she found part of the process.

‘Reports have been made about my treatment on the show and there were witnesses to some events, as well as videos of particular incidents which are incredibly distressing to watch,’ she wrote.

In a new statement and press release, the BBC has announced that they are taking measures in order to introduce ‘practical steps’ to support welfare.

‘Concerns that have arisen in recent months have been fundamentally about training and rehearsals. The actions we announce today are designed to address that,’ it was announced.

It was then detailed that the dance rehearsals will now be monitored, explaining ‘a production team member present during training room rehearsals at all times.’

Metro.co.uk has contacted BBC and James Jordan’s representatives for comment.