Zara McDermott reportedly danced with a fractured leg, which she kept secret from producers after injuring herself during training with Graziano Di Prima.
BBC bosses were said to be unaware the former Love Island star, 27, had a hairline stress fracture in her leg while performing her Halloween dance with Di Prima.
The report comes after it was recently claimed pro dancer Di Prima, 30, “kicked and hit” McDermott during rehearsals. He has since left the BBC series.
While the MIC star said this was not confined to “a singular incident”, a rep for Di Prima previously stated: “This week the news agenda has focused on an isolated incident that Mr Di Prima deeply regrets and apologised for at the time.
“The deluge of commentary, too often without context or nuance, has provoked a pile-on that has left a young man in a very vulnerable state.”
And now it has come to light that McDermott was dancing on a fractured her leg for week leading up to their Halloween Special performance.
Although she informed Di Prima of her injury, the pair decided to push through but landed in the dance-off and were eliminated from the competition that night.
Following her exit, McDermott was subsequently taken to the hospital, where an X-ray revealed severe ligament damage and a stress fracture in her left tibia. There is no suggestion that McDermott’s reported broken leg was caused by Di Prima.
An insider told the Sun: "Zara had started getting injured in the build-up to the Halloween dance then something went on the morning, meaning she danced with a fractured leg all that week.
"It was a literal horror show in every sense of the word.”
They added: "The pain got worse and by the last few weeks, she was in agony, popping painkillers before, during and after sessions.
"She made Graziano aware of her discomfort but he was pretty adamant they needed to crack on. Obviously they both wanted to get the highest scores possible, and unfortunately she pushed through the pain.”
McDermott was said to have “pushed through the pain” and didn’t alert the BBC to the injury until just a few weeks ago.
However, a source close to Di Prima told the publication that he encouraged McDermott to take breaks and that she wanted to continue training despite her pain.
The Standard has contacted representatives for Strictly Come Dancing, Zara McDermott, and Graziano Di Prima for comment.
After being seen in a recovery boot earlier this year, McDermott revealed on social media that she had suffered a stress fracture on her tibia but did not specify that it was due to her time on Strictly.
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The latest report comes as fellow professional dancer Giovanni Pernice was accused of “abusive” behaviour by actress and former Strictly partner Amanda Abbington. The allegations stem from their partnership on last year's series, which Abbington withdrew from early.
A representative for Pernice stated that he "refutes these allegations and denies any accusations of abusive or threatening behavior."
Then earlier this week, BBC director general Tim Davies issued an apology to contestants who have had experiences on the show that "haven't been wholly positive."
Davie told journalists that there will inevitably be “competitiveness, hard work and the will to do well” on the show, “but there are limits and the line should never be crossed”.
Asked if he is confident the show will go ahead this series, he said: “I need to be assured we have the right safeguarding and duty of care in place, and that is the first question I ask.
“We will never tolerate unacceptable behaviour of any kind. I am assured by the robust actions we have taken in terms of the changes we have made … that we are in a position to deliver a very good season this year and that has been my focus.
“With that assurance, I’m looking forward to the next season.”
