Former Strictly star Fern Britton reveals she was ‘kicked and shoved’ by pro partner Artem Chigvintsev in resurfaced interview as crisis on the show deepens

Fern Britton has revealed she was ‘kicked and pushed’ during her Strictly Come Dancing performance as the BBC’s crisis deepens.

In a resurfaced 2015 interview, the 67-year-old presenter made these claims about her professional dance partner Artem Chigvintsev.

It comes as the BBC is at the centre of a row over bullying allegations against former pros Giovanni Pernice, Graziano Di Prima and James Jordan over their behaviour towards their former dance partners during rehearsals.

Speaking at an event hosted by The Times newspaper, Fern, who was the fifth contestant eliminated from the 2012 BBC programme, said: ‘He [Artem] “He looked at my feet and gave me a kick or a push.”

She recalls him saying, “You just stand there and don’t move; I’ll dance around you.”

Fern added: ‘He said something like, ‘Shut up. Go home before I kill you.’

‘I’d say, “Oh, please just kill me, it’s easier.” Or what was his other question? “If you go and have a cup of tea now, I’ll blow up like an atomic bomb.” I thought, well, I’m not going to correct him on that.’

Fern went on to say that they were “in love for a while,” but that her partner “wasn’t the epitome of charm.”

She said, “I liked it, but it was sad at the same time.”

Artem responded to Fern’s claims, telling the Daily Express: ‘I believe I treated Fern with respect and genuine care, and these claims about me are completely at odds with everything I believe in and the person I am.

“I can’t imagine what made me make such shocking statements.”

In 2014, Artem left Strictly to work on Dancing with the Stars in the United States, where he continues to appear as one of the professional dancers.

Fern and Artem’s representatives have been contacted for comment.

On Tuesday night it was announced that a third professional dancer on the show has been identified as a ‘person of interest’ in the wake of allegations of abuse and bullying.

Graziano Di Prima, 30, was axed from the show last week amid reports he verbally and physically abused his celebrity partner Zara McDermott, 27, during last year’s series.

The suspension came just weeks after Giovanni Pernice, 33, was suspended pending a BBC investigation into allegations of behind-closed-doors misconduct by Amanda Abbington, 50, and two other former celebrities.

BBC executives sacked Graziano after production staff showed bosses a video of the professional dancer “punching and kicking” Love Island star Zara during a training session last autumn.

However, there have been allegations of a massive cover-up by the BBC, as crew members are said to have complained about Graziano’s behaviour during the series but no action was taken.

When a group of Strictly production staff saw Graziano’s treatment of Zara on last year’s series, they raised their concerns with their superiors. But instead of sacking him, senior executives ignored their concerns and issued Graziano ‘silent warnings’.

It was only when staff backed up their allegations with video evidence last week – including a clip of Graziano punching Zara – that bosses were prompted to take action and sack him. But this was nine months after they first raised the alarm.

A BBC insider told the Mail’s Katie Hind: ‘There is absolutely no doubt that the highest officials at Strictly and the rest of the BBC were aware of Graziano’s behaviour – and yet they still allowed him to appear on screen.’

The BBC’s official response said: ‘While we will never comment on individual cases, the BBC is known to have robust duty of care procedures in place. If concerns are raised, we will always take them seriously and take action as quickly as possible.’

Sources at Strictly told the Mail they believe there was a “cover-up” surrounding Graziano’s behaviour, with “bosses hoping to prevent fan favourite Di Prima being sacked”.

Zara herself admitted in her statement on Tuesday that she felt too scared to come forward and complain about Graziano’s behavior, as this would mean that she too did not want to damage the show’s good reputation and her own career prospects.

“I’ve struggled with the fear of opening up. I was afraid of the public’s negative reactions, I was afraid of my future, I was afraid of victim shaming,” Zara wrote on Instagram.

This week it was revealed that a third professional dancer, who is no longer on the show, has also been implicated in the investigation into the BBC series. Insiders told The Sun that it is ‘increasingly clear that there is a widespread problem with the behaviour of some of the trainee professionals.’

‘The more people come forward, the clearer the picture becomes.’

And all of this poses a threat to the series’ big 20th anniversary series.

By now, the show’s regular booker, Stefania Aleksander, has usually booked at least six celebrities, whose names inevitably end up in the public domain.

This time last year – Zara, Angela Rippon and Angela Scanlon had already signed up for the show. Finalist Layton Williams had also agreed to appear and Les Dennis was about to do so, with all of those names leaked to the public.

This time, however, there are no leaks pointing to a crisis in the early stages of the series.

Company insiders say they struggle to recruit female celebrities, especially well-known ones.

‘It’s usually the women who are more into it,’ says a television executive associated with the show. ‘Not only is it a chance to dress up, but appearing on Strictly is much more career-boosting for women than it is for men.

“But rumor has it that it’s not exactly a piece of cake, so they’re a lot harder to get hold of.”

Sources within the organisation say the show is in a ‘collapse’ and top brass from both Strictly and the BBC held meetings over the weekend to discuss how to survive the scandal.

One said: ‘There’s been a lot of talk about how to handle this, but the biggest problem is this year’s cast… There’s been a lot of swearing and a lot of frustration.’

BBC executives are said to be “very concerned” that fans will stop watching as scandals continue to swirl around their flagship programme.

“The last nine months have been a disaster,” says a well-informed source. “With no idea where it will end, fears are sky-high at the top of the BBC.”