Edwina Currie thinks younger 'Strictly Come Dancing' contestants are not always prepared to put in the "hard work" that the programme requires.
Edwina Currie competed on Strictly Come Dancing in 2011
The former Conservative politician, 77, took part in the 2011 edition of the BBC Latin and ballroom show - which has come under fire in recent weeks as professionals Giovanni Pernice and Graziano Di Prima have been accused of bullying celebrities in rehearsals - and suggested that these days, those who compete need to realise that there is "a lot more effort" needed than what they may think when they sign up.
Speaking on ITV's 'This Morning', she said: "I was prepared to give it a go and I had a good experience but it was dead, dead, dead hard work and that's a big surprise to people. Some of the younger contestants these days don't realise that it does take an awful lot more effort than just washing a footpath or something and putting it on TikTok. I think that's part of the problem."
"Occasionally you would get professionals thinking that one or two of the celebs were a bit lazy, and they were often right but you just have to shrug and go with it."
Edwina believes that the overall "tone" of the show has changed in recent years and thinks that it seems to have become "much more competitive" over the last few series, even though it just used to be about the "entertainment" value.
She said: "I think a few years ago, the tone of the programme changed. Maybe the producers changed, I don't know. It became much more competitive, it became much more about very high quality dancing and the standard rose dramatically. It used to be much more about entertainment. I think the viewers show when they vote that they like the entertaining characters, the people who have never danced before. "
Former 'Love Island' contestant Zara McDermott, 27, recently claimed she was "kicked" by Graziano in rehearsals and sometimes "locked herself in the toilet" out of fear even though she signed up to the show fully aware of the dedication that was needed.
She said: "When I was invited to be a contestant on the show it really was a childhood dream come true. I fully understood the level of commitment and hard work that Strictly was going to be and I dedicated everything to it. I am a resilient person and I was fully prepared to put in whatever it took.
"And so much of my Strictly experience was everything I could have dreamt of. The entire production team and everyone behind the scenes as well as my fellow contestants were so amazing to worth with."
The broadcaster has decided that going forward, celebrities will be given chaperones for their time on the show and, amid the official investigation, rehearsals will be recorded.
Meanwhile, Giovanni has previously rejected "any suggestion of abusive or threatening behaviour" and said he was surprised by the allegations made against him.
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