Rachel Riley says Strictly gave her 'PTSD' and branded it a 'hostage situation'
Rachel Riley previously shared her experience on Strictly Come Dancing which she described as a "hostage situation".
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Rachel Riley opened up about her experience starring on BBC’s Strictly Come Dancing and shared a surprising insight.
The floodgates opened in January when Amanda Abbington made allegations against pro-dancer Giovanni Pernice, who she was partnered with during her 2023 appearance.
Giovanni has vehemently denied the allegations.
Graziano Di Prima was also dropped from the show and later released a statement saying he “deeply regrets” his actions after allegations he “kicked and hit” his partner Zara McDermott.
This sent the BBC into turmoil and an internal investigation was launched as intense scrutiny rose over the show’s conduct.
Although Rachel fell in love with pro-Pascha Kovalev following her 2013 Strictly stint and welcomed two kids with him, she compared her experience to a “hostage situation.”
“I’d never danced a step before in my life and it was absolutely terrifying,’ she said on the High Performance podcast earlier this year.
The Countdown star explained that after “dancing in front of 10 million people,” the judges' comments “would be like the end of the world,” which led to her developing post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).
Rachel shared: “A lot of people who have done it can relate, it’s like a trauma bonding, hostage situation, not with your partner but with the show.
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“You love doing it and it’s so much fun, you get all of the endorphins from the training and achieving something just being in the moment.
“All you’re supposed to be doing is learning this dance, that’s all you’re doing, you haven’t got any distractions, you haven’t got to do the washing, check your phone, you haven’t got to do anything else.
“By the end of the week, you’ve achieved it and done it and you’ve got that gratification.”
Rachel continued: “The dancing thing was quite scary and it brings up a lot of emotions.
“Each year Pasha would do it, I would remember what happened my week and all of the emotions and then the next person, I would be over empathising and each year was layers of memories and I didn’t enjoy it.”
