Strictly bosses DENY show is fixed after ex contestant Rachel Riley says BBC series is ‘produced’

Strictly bosses DENY show is fixed after ex contestant Rachel Riley says BBC series is ‘very produced’ and ‘they know from the start who they want to win’

BBC bosses have denied claims made by Rachel Riley that Strictly Come Dancing is a fix and the winner is chosen by bosses.

Rachel, 36, was a celebrity contestant on Strictly back in 2013 where she was partnered with her future husband Pasha Kovalev, 42.

The Countdown presenter was voted out of the show in the fifth week, partly because she was an inexperienced dancer.

Claims: BBC bosses have denied claims made by Rachel Riley that Strictly Come Dancing is a fix and the winner is chosen by bosses (pictured on the show in 2013)

Speaking to The Sunday Times, Rachel described the BBC show as ‘very produced’ and said bosses know what ‘balance’ they want among the contestants.

She said: ‘I think they know from the start who they want to win and what journeys they want to take different people on, to have the right balance, and they can obviously fix the scores.’

‘I think Brits want an underdog. We want to build someone up, not see someone who is good from the start – that’s not the heart of these programmes.’

The TV star felt she suffered from a mild form of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder after taking part in the show.

Couple: Rachel, 36, was a celebrity contestant on Strictly back in 2013 where she was partnered with her future husband Pasha Kovalev, 42

Couple: Rachel, 36, was a celebrity contestant on Strictly back in 2013 where she was partnered with her future husband Pasha Kovalev, 42

She said: ‘It’s a really intense period. I had insecurities about my dancing because your whole self-worth is built around it. And you have this team mentality, then you’re suddenly dropped. It still carries on but you’ve been put in the bin.’

Rachel said she had a lot of fun taking part in the show but the years after were ‘tricky’ and added that some contestants end up with mental ‘misalignment’ from it.

Regaring Rachel’s claims, a Strictly spokesperson said: ‘This claim is categorically untrue. The BBC has strict procedures and editorial guidelines in place regarding impartiality and Strictly upholds all of these.’ 

Elsewhere during the interview, Rachel dismissed speculation that her romance with Pasha Kovalev was an example of the famous ‘Strictly curse’. 

Opinion: Rachel described the BBC show as 'very produced' and said producers know what 'balance' they want among the contestants

Opinion: Rachel described the BBC show as ‘very produced’ and said producers know what ‘balance’ they want among the contestants

Rachel was previously married to Jamie Gilbert who she split from after 16 months and then began dating Pasha.

The presenter said if you have cracks in your relationship, Strictly can expose them and added that the show gave her the distance to make the break that would have happened anyway. 

The most recent series of Strictly was won by EastEnders actress Rose Ayling-Ellis and her dance partner Giovanni Pernice.

This year’s series features changes to the dance line-up as both Oti Mabuse and Aljaz Skorjanec have left the show.  

She said: 'I think Brits want an underdog. We want to build someone up, not see someone who is good from the start - that's not the heart of these programmes' (pictured in 2021)

She said: ‘I think Brits want an underdog. We want to build someone up, not see someone who is good from the start – that’s not the heart of these programmes’ (pictured in 2021)

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