Zara McDermott breaks silence as friend signs up for Strictly after her nightmare ordeal

Zara McDermott danced through agony on Strictly last year as she had an undiagnosed broken leg during her Halloween performance with Graziano di Prima, while on at least one other occasion her pro partner kicked her.

He has now been axed for "gross misconduct" and has admitted the attack - but Zara is determined that her experience shouldn't overshadow that of her close friend Pete Wicks, who will star on the show himself this year. The reality TV star hosts a podcast with her boyfriend Sam Thompson called Staying Relevant - and now it could be his turn to step into the limelight and showcase his dancefloor skills.

Zara suffered brutal trolling about her performances online - as well as playful ribbing from Sam, who claimed that she wasn't a good dancer. However, she persevered - amid a gruelling training regime and a very difficult experience with Graziano - and managed to cling on until week six.

A source has now claimed that, despite everything, she is "so happy" to see her pal landing a prestigious place on the BBC show. "Her experience on the show was so individual – she hopes no one will go through the same again," the source told Mail Online.

"She knows that Pete will have an amazing time and could even impress the judges. He's incredibly hardworking and a good person, and will thrive in the environment, which can be intense, but he performs best when he's challenged and under pressure."

They added: "Zara doesn't want anything that happened to her to taint his Strictly journey and backs Pete even if it is a bit close to home."

Pete has been a friend of Sam's since the pair met on Celebs Go Dating five years ago and they went on to become work colleagues too, particularly through their podcast.

Sam, Pete and Zara, who previously joked about being in a throuple together, socialised on numerous occasions with Graziano and are not thought to have known about Zara's abuse ordeal.

She later revealed that she'd kept the kicking episode quiet and feared that if she went public, she might have been "victim blamed".

Graziano was sacked from the show and has since fled to his native Sicily where he was thought to have taken on a farm job "digging trenches" among the olive groves.

New reports suggest that he has been hospitalised so he can benefit from "medical supervision" and is being "monitored hourly".

Meanwhile, Zara said she was "resilient" and had opted not to speak up at the time as she was fearful of a "public backlash".

"I was scared about my future, I was scared of victim shaming," she wrote in an Instagram statement, before clarifying that she has now found the courage and "strength to face these fears".