Strictly’s Graziano Di Prima sparks ‘dance experience’ debate after Zara McDermott exit speech

Graziano Di Prima’s touching tribute to Zara McDermott after her exit from Strictly Come Dancing has sparked debate among fans about the importance of “previous dance experience” for the show’s contestants.

Saturday (28 October) night’s Halloween spectacular saw the remaining 10 celebrities hit the dance floor once again for a series of spooky routines.

While Ellie Leach topped the leaderboard for the first time with her zombie-themed Salsa, it was Love Island star and documentary maker McDermott who found herself in the bottom two with Adam Thomas.

All four judges voted to save Thomas, sending McDermott packing. On her exit, McDermott, 26, was praised as the “hardest worker”, with her pro partner Di Prima highlighting how the reality TV star had pushed herself to learn to dance despite a total lack of experience.

“She has been ready for me, 8am until 9pm. Never stopping, asks me [for] just half an hour for break,” he told the audience. “She is literally what Strictly is all about. Complete novice, coming in, doing the hard job.”

McDermott struggled to hold back her tears as Di Prima praised her, calling her a “pure soul” and celebrating their friendship. “We did six weeks. You’ve never danced before,” he continued. “Realise that. I’m so proud of you.”

Having not come from a performing arts background, McDermott was one of the few contestants on Strictly 2023 with no dance experience before she joined the show. In comparison, many of the show’s highest scoring contestants this year have previously danced before, from Layton Williams as a young Billy Elliot and Angela Rippon training as a ballet dancer until she was 17, to Nigel Harman performing in the West End and Angela Scanlon training in Irish dance.

As a result, fans have argued that the high standard on this year’s show – with Williams scoring a near-perfect score of 39 in week five – has meant that contestants who don’t already know how to dance don’t stand a chance.

Agreeing with Di Prima’s comments, one viewer wrote on Instagram: “It’s so true in what you said, it’s what Strictly is all about. Zara was a complete novice and that’s what the other celebrities should be, or one year novices and the next year celebs with dance experience. Novices don’t stand a chance and it’s so unfair.”

“Zara is definitely what Strictly is all about,” another agreed. “I’ve been watching the programme since series one, and progress like hers is amazing.”

Another fan said that McDermott “epitomised” the show’s spirit, pointing out that “the cliff between non-dancers and some very professional ones [is] not really fair. Congratulations and well done for both of you entertaining us.”

Di Prima echoed this sentiment on Instagram, where both celebrity and partner shared long and heartfelt messages to each other celebrating their time on the show.

“You @zara_mcdermott, you are what Strictly is all about, with humbleness, zero ego, rehearsing 12 hours per day,” he wrote. “You went through pain, lots of .. AGAIN AGAIN AGAIN!! Never complained, always pushing yourself to learn more! YOU DID IT! Six week in the competition for a person that has never danced before!! It’s a massive achievement, you have grown so much, in confidence and also in dancing!!”

In previous series of Strictly, so-called “joke contestants” with little dance skill but high comedic value, such as Ann Widdecombe and John Sergeant, have scored low with the judges for skill but often gone far in the competition due to audience votes.

However, as the standard has been raised in recent years, similar acts have been eliminated earlier in the competition. So far in this year’s competition, the couple with the lowest score on Saturday has been eliminated every week.

So while some fans felt that McDermott embodied the Strictly spirit, others argued that the “right contestant went home” so that stronger dancers could remain.

Responding to another fan, one viewer wrote: “If EVERYONE that came on the show had no dance experience whatsoever it would be boring and not right. Every year we have always had at least one or two with dance experience. This year we just have more and that’s not a big deal.”

Another comment read: “Many of them have their own ‘unfair advantages’. Actors are trained to get into character, tell a story and put on a show. Athletes have more physical strength and endurance/stamina than other people. People in musicals are used to performing a routine on stage. Many celebs have done stage school or similar.

“NO ONE is trained in this level of dancing technique. I enjoy watching better performances. It would be dull if they were all crap.”

Strictly Come Dancing continues Saturday 4 November at 7.05pm on BBC One.