Strictly Come Dancing pro Gorka Marquez has revealed he has ‘adapted’ his training methods for his celebrity partners following the show’s bullying scandal.
The dancer, 34, said he believed being a good teacher meant you must be able to adjust to the ‘abilities and the necessities’ of each student, including those who are more sensitive.
Fellow pro Giovani Pernice was forced to leave the hit BBC dancing show last year amid a probe into his behaviour, after he was accused of abuse by his former celebrity partner, Amanda Abbington.
Numerous allegations of abusive behaviour soon followed which forced professional dancers Graziano Di Prima to also exit the long-running programme.
Asked if the scandal had changed his own teaching style Gorka, who has been paired with the likes of Helen Skelton and Dr Punam Krishan since joining the show in 2016, told The Mirror: ‘I change my training methods with every celebrity, every year. That’s because everybody is different.
The dancer shares daughter Mia, two, and one-year-old Thiago with partner Gemma Atkinson, 40, and went on to compare his methods to being a parent.
Strictly Come Dancing pro Gorka Marquez has revealed he has ‘adapted’ his training methods for his celebrity partners following the show’s bullying scandal
The dancer, 34, said he believed being a good teacher meant you must be able to adjust to the ‘abilities and the necessities’ of each student, including those who are more sensitive (pictured with Helen Skelton on the show in 2022)
‘It’s like if you have two children, the way that you educate one, the things that you did with one, aren’t going to work with the other one. They might have different personalities, there are differences between a boy and a girl, the boy might want to throw everything around and the girl is more sensitive’.
Before adding: ‘It’s trial and error especially in the first weeks, then you get to know a person because it’s someone that you never met before’.
Giovanni was cleared of ten out of Amanda’s 16 allegations when the BBC probe concluded in September but remained absent for the current edition of the series.
The BBC’s report cleared him of the most serious accusations of physical aggression, but upheld some of verbal bullying and harᴀssment.
Giovanni revealed he had to battle through some ‘dark times’ in the wake of the bombshell bullying claims against him.
He confessed: ‘I’m not going to lie, there were dark moments in terms of, you know, this is finished, this is the end of my career. That was one of my down moments.
‘Sorry for my language but 2024 can f**k off. I’ve been looking forward to seeing the back of it.’
Commenting on Amanda’s bombshell claims, he continued: ‘Every time she came out with another interview I was always maintaining a calm inside. Trust me, it wasn’t easy, there were dark times.’
Giovani Pernice was forced to leave the hit BBC dancing show last year amid a probe into his behaviour, after he was accused of abuse by his former celebrity partner, Amanda Abbington
Asked if the scandal had changed his own teaching style Gorka, said: ‘I change my training methods with every celebrity, every year. That’s because everybody is different’ (pictured with Dr Punam Kirshnan)
The dancer, who shares daughter Mia, two, and one-year-old Thiago with partner Gemma Atkinson , 40, went on to compare his methods to being a parent
Despite bosses not upholding allegations that Giovanni was physically aggressive, it did uphold some of actress Amanda’s complaints of verbal bullying and harᴀssment.
The BBC also agreed with she that at times he appeared to be giving her overly negative feedback.
Read MoreEXCLUSIVE There’s no way back for me on Strictly, a heartbroken Giovanni reveals to KATIE HIND 
Meanwhile Graziana was axed from the show in July over reports he verbally and physically abused his celebrity partner Zara McDermott during the 2023 series.
He fled the UK when the scandal broke to his native Italy with his wife – who is a professional dancer on the Italian version of the series.
In July Mark Borkowski, a spokesperson for Graziano, told BBC News: ‘There is never a time when kicking, or any sense of that is right. And he knows that.
He knows he’s made a mistake. He apologised at the time.’
Referring to the media reports, Mark added: ‘But he doesn’t recognise some of the issues surrounding it. The descriptions of what is being commented online, and how he remembers it, are not aligned.’
He continued: ‘He [Graziano] has literally cut himself off from civilisation. I think that’s a wise thing to do, supported by his wife. He’s coming to terms with his mental health issues.’
Giovanni revealed he had to battle through some ‘dark times’ in the wake of the bombshell bullying claims against him
Despite bosses not upholding allegations that Giovanni was physically aggressive, it did uphold some of actress Amanda’s complaints of verbal bullying and harᴀssment
Meanwhile Graziana was axed from the show in July over reports he verbally and physically abused his celebrity partner Zara McDermott during the 2023 series (pictured on the show)
Graziano, who believed the matter had been resolved at the time, was sacked from the show after a video of the idea was brought to the attention of the BBC last week.
According to show insiders, video footage of Graziano mistreating Zara gave bosses no choice but to cancel his contract.
Addressing his departure on Instagram, Graziano wrote: ‘I deeply regret the events that led to my departure from Strictly. My intense pᴀssion and determination to win might have affected my training regime.
‘Respecting the BBC HR process, I understand it’s best for the show that I step away.’
He continued: ‘While there are aspects of this story involving external influences that I can’t discuss at this time, I remain committed to being strong for my family and friends.
‘I wish the Strictly family and the BBC nothing but success in the future.’
He concluded the post: ‘I also want to thank everyone who has supported my career, both professionally and personally. When the time is right, I will share my story.’
