The TV host appeared on the series in 2010, when he was partnered with Aliona Vilani. The pair finished in second place, and were beaten by former EastEnders star Kara Tointon and professional Artem Chigvintsev, who was arrested on a domestic violence charge last month.
Many celebrities who have participated on the show since it started in 2004 have shared their respective negative experiences, with Paralympian Will Bayley revealing the series left him with a “horrific” injury he’ll “never get over” .
However, Baker believes he had the most “intense” experience of any celebrity due to the busy workload he had to juggle while taking part on the show. He was presenting both The One Show and Countryfile at the time.
He told Metro.co.uk : ‘I don’t think anybody in the history of Strictly has had a more intense experience than me when you look at all of the work I was doing at the same time.”
In 2010, it was reported that Vilani made Baker push through nausea he experienced after suffering from dizziness while rehearsing. Vilani said: “He was getting quite sick but we don’t have too many hours of practice so I had to crack the whip and be tough and in the end he got over it.”
Baker continued: “Just thinking about it, I’m feeling sick. There’s a lot of twirling and the whole room is constantly moving, even when we stop.’
The actor recently said that, in the aftermath of her exit, she received “death threats” and “rape threats towards not only myself, but my daughter, and the threats of death to my son” due to her allegations against Pernice, who won’t be a part of this year’s series when it starts later this month.
A BBC spokesperson said: “Anyone involved in a complaint has a right to confidentiality and fair process and therefore it would be inappropriate to comment further on individuals. However, when issues are raised with us we always take them extremely seriously and have appropriate processes in place to manage this. As we have said before, we would urge people not to indulge in speculation.
“More generally, the BBC and BBC Studios takes duty of care extremely seriously. Our processes on Strictly Come Dancing are updated every year, they are kept under constant review and last week we announced additional steps to further strengthen welfare and support on the show.”
Pernice has repeatedly denied any wrongdoing. In a statement in response to the Channel 4 interview, the dancer’s spokesperson said: “We are cooperating fully with the BBC’s review process. All parties have been asked to respect this process and to not speak to the media before it concludes. We will continue to respect the integrity of the investigation and believe it is the right forum for all the evidence to be reviewed.
“As part of the evidence-led review, the BBC has shared the allegations they have been able to substantiate with us. They do not resemble Amanda’s latest allegations, given to Channel 4, in any shape or form. Giovanni refutes any claim of threatening or abusive behaviour, and having provided the BBC with his evidence, is confident that the review will prove this.”
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