Graziano di Prima 'under medical supervision' after being axed from Strictly
Italian dancer Graziano di Prima was axed from Strictly Come Dancing earlier this month after it was reported footage from rehearsals with celebrity partner Zara McDermott showed him "kicking" her.
Strictly: Zara and Graziano speak during early 2023 rehearsals
Graziano di Prima's family are reportedly worried about the dancer and monitoring him hourly. He is also under medical supervision following the aftermath of his axing from Strictly Come Dancing.
The Italian dancer had been confirmed as part of the line-up for the 2024 season, which is the 20th anniversary series, only to be spectacularly dropped by the BBC following an internal probe into misconduct over his treatment of Zara McDermott.
“Graziano is currently under medical supervision, with the stress of the situation causing significant concern for his family, who are monitoring him hourly. The unrelenting feeding frenzy over these accusations and his mental state leaves him at this time unable to defend himself," a source told The Mirror.
The star has been living in a remote part of Sicily with his wife and family following his dismissal over allegations he physically and verbally abused his 2023 dance partner, Zara McDermott. The 30-year-old is said to have been left a “broken man” after the allegations emerged and has retreated to a farm he worked on as a child.
Last week a friend of Graziano's told Express.co.uk: "He's a broken man. He's literally going back to manual work and is digging trenches around olive trees. He's gone back to where he came from as a young boy of nine when he worked the land and his life was dealing with goats, olives and grapes.”
At the time they said: "Graziano is unafraid of hard work, he comes from an impoverished background and built up his dancing career through hard work and dedication. He accepts he did wrong and made mistakes. Now he's trying to keep himself busy and stay strong mentally."
However, since then further information has come to light about his treatment of Love Island star Zara. It has been alleged she unknowingly performed with a fractured leg during her final Strictly Come Dancing performance. She reportedly depended on painkillers for gruelling ten-hour rehearsals after the incident last year.
Sources suggest she endured the injury leading up to the October Halloween special and confided in pro dancer Graziano about the agony she was experiencing.
Despite the pain, they chose to carry and were voted off in the same week, after which Zara sought treatment at a hospital.
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X-rays showed significant ligament damage along with a stress fracture in Zara's left tibia.
The extent of her injury was only revealed a fortnight ago when she disclosed the details to private investigators amid an ongoing probe into the behaviour of the dancers.
It's been said that she kept her injury under wraps from "anyone at the BBC until two weeks ago" because she didn't want to cause any trouble. Meanwhile, a source close to Graziano told The Sun that he had suggested Zara take breaks, but she insisted on continuing with training.
Earlier this month, Graziano was let go from the show and said in a statement he "deeply regrets" the events that led to his departure, and that his "intense passion and determination to win might have affected my training regime".
