Inside Zara McDermott's 'hard' 13-hour training days on Strictly amid Graziano Di Prima's misconduct claims

ok.co.uk:

Strictly Come Dancing fans were dealt a blow over the weekend by the news of Graziano Di Prima's exit from the BBC show following allegations of misconduct.The Italian professional dancer has been accused of physical and verbal behaviour towards his dance partner Zara McDermott when they competed in the show together last year.

Graziano said in a statement that he "deeply regrets" the events that led to his departure from Strictly, adding: "My intense passion and determination to win might have affected my training regime." Meanwhile, The Daily Mail has reported that Zara was a "victim of repeated physical and verbal abuse" behind the scenes, with Graziano allegedly having "kicked, spat at and hit" the Love Island star.

OK! has reached out to Graziano's representatives for comment. While an investigation by the BBC is reportedly in progress, Zara previously opened up about her training days on Strictly Come Dancing in an exclusive shoot with OK!

magazine. In the chat, she revealed that she would spend up to 13 hours practicing dance routines per day whilst on the show. "For a completely novice non-dancer like me, it's very intense to try and get something as perfect as you possibly can," she said in October last year. "I get to training just before 8am, we grab something really quick for lunch and keep going until sometimes 6, 8, 9pm.