Strictly Come Dancing win big at National Television Awards after nightmare year of scandals

Strictly Come Dancing has won the National Television Award for Talent Show after the last scandal-filled 18 months. Last year's celebrity cast took to the stage to accept the award, with Pete Wicks and JB Gill giving a speech.

"It gives me a little bit of PTSD that theme tune," Petesaid. "But look, Strictly is one of the best things that I have done and as much as us guys are the ones dancing, it's all about the crew and the people who work behind it.

"It's a well-oiled machine and it just is a fabulous bunch of people. So from me, it's all about them guys. Thank you to everyone who voted - now I'm going to hand you over to someone who actually made the final."

JB Gill then went onto thank the judges as well as Chris McCausland and Diane Buswell who "made history" as last year's winners. "Last but not least, thank you to all the viewers, all the people who voted for this incredible award. We absolutely love you."

Strictly was nominated for Best Talent Show at the 2025 NTAs, being the only BBC series in the category. They were up against ITV hits Britain's Got Talent and The Voice UK, as well as Channel 4's The Great British Bake Off and The Great Pottery Throw Down.

It's been a dramatic year and a half for the long-running celebrity dance competition, with the show facing a number of scandals throughout that time. Last year, both professional dancers Giovanni Pernice and Graziano Di Prima left the show after being accused of misconduct.

Pernice was accused by 2023 celebrity partner Amanda Abbington of "bullying" and "aggressive behaviour", which he denied. An internal investigation found that Pernice was not abusive, threatening or intimidating but held that he did not "behave inappropriately" with his dance partners and upheld "some, but not all" of the complaints.

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In July last year, Di Prima was axed from Strictly following claims that he 'kicked and spat' at his co-star Zara McDermott, with the broadcaster watching 'distressing' footage of the pair in rehearsals. He said in a statement shortly afterwards: "I deeply regret the events that led to my departure from Strictly. My intense passion 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. 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. 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."

The drama didn't end there, with contestant Wynne Evans stepping back from his BBC radio show and the Strictly Come Dancing tour in January after being caught on camera seemingly making a sexual comment to Janette Manrara.

He appeared to use the word "spit roast" - referring to a lewd sexual act - in a video circulated by the Daily Mail and later apologised, telling the Daily Mirror: "My language was inappropriate and unacceptable for which I sincerely apologise."

He later claimed that he was forced to apologise for the sexual slur and that the 'spit-roast' comment was a nickname for his co-star Jamie Borthwick. “I didn’t see the statement. Old Spit-roast Boy was a nickname for Jamie Borthwick. I’m not a bad guy, I’m not a misogynist, I’m not any of these things," he told The Sun.

As for the upcoming series, drama kicked off before the show has even begun - when 2025 star Thomas Skinner snatched a phone out of a reporter's hand and stormed out of an interview on Tuesday. Today, he issued a statement to X, explaining that felt it was "best to step away" after spotting messages about himself on the journalist's phone.

"To set the record straight of the back of yesterday. During one of the interviews, a journalist placed their phone on the table to record the conversation," he said.

"I happened to catch a glimpse of the screen and saw numerous messages - not about Strictly but about a personal story from my past. I've been through some difficult times in my life, which I have worked hard to move on from. In that moment, seeing it there caught me off guard. I felt it was best to step away and gather myself."

He added: "This had nothing to do with Strictly or the interviews themselves. I’m sorry I picked up someone else’s phone and I don’t even know if the journalist realised their messages were visible, and I don’t want to suggest any bad intentions on their part."

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