Strictly’s Janette Manrara reveals her blunt two-word message to ex-dance partner Will Bayley after he shared shock injury claims amid BBC scandal

Strictly Come Dancing star Janette Manrara has revealed the two-word response she sent to her former celebrity partner Will Bayley after he claimed that he couldn’t walk for six months after suffering an injury on the show.

The Paralympian and table tennis player, 36, claimed his professional partner Janette made him redo a jump that caused the lifelong injury amid the latest drama for the ‘fatally tarnished’ show.

Will was forced to bow out early of the BBC competition when he heard his leg ‘crack’ on his second attempt at jumping from a table in studio rehearsals – after Janette said his first was ‘rubbish’. 

As Will called on the BBC to apologise for his experience on the scandal-hit programme, Janette has now revealed how she reached out to Will by text.   

She said: ‘I messaged him [Will] because we are really good friends. He immediately said, ‘I’m so sorry, it’s not meant to look like that. I don’t want you to feel like it’s you”

She claims she sent a simple two words back to Will, writing: ‘It’s OK’.

Speaking to The Sun, Janette said: ‘I enjoyed dancing with him so much. It’s the only time I’ve actually ever cried on Strictly, when we did our Couple’s Choice. It was a dedication to Great Ormond Street Hospital.’

Asked if she was shocked to hear of all the allegations coming out about Strictly now, Janette said: ‘Yes and no. I was shocked, because you just never want to hear that. 

‘But it is a dance show, it gets physical and it is a competition. There is intensity that sometimes happens in the rehearsal rooms. Everybody wants to do their best. Every professional pushes themselves, but it should always be in a positive way.’

Last week on This Morning, Will spoke further about the ordeal saying it was ‘traumatic’ and revealed he wrote to the BBC with his concerns after the show but was made to feel like he was ‘making a mountain out of a molehill’.

He also called for huge changes on the show and better treatment for people with disabilities – and said that ‘some kind of responsibility or sorry would have been amazing to hear’ at the time.

BBC chief Tim Davie did in fact apologise for the ongoing scandal on Tuesday – saying he was ‘very sorry’ to anyone who ‘has had an experience on Strictly that hasn’t been wholly positive’.

Will was born with arthrogryposis which limits the range of motion in the joints of his limbs and completed the move with straight knees.

Will said on This Morning: ‘I wasn’t able to walk for six months it was mentally hard and my family had to deal with it.’

‘What we need to ask is how we can support people with disabilities. People are saying it’s woke. Jesus if you can’t say that then I don’t know what you can say to be honest.’

‘I am grateful that they covered my surgery but there wasn’t much communication afterwards.

‘People are saying that I’m joining the band wagon but I’ve been saying this for years. It’s only now that I am being listened to.

‘Some kind of responsibility or sorry would have been amazing to hear. 

‘I have Strictly fans saying ‘how can you say this’. I’ve been through worse so I can deal with people’s comments. I believe that it could have been avoided with the right care.’

He went on to insist that he didn’t blame his professional partner Janette for what happened ‘at all’.

Will said: ‘Janette was so supportive. We are both so competitive and we wanted to win. She was very professional and is so talented.’

He also appeared on BBC Breakfast on Tuesday morning where he told hosts Jon Kay and Sally Nugent that ‘changes need to be made’ and expressed hope that ‘lessons will be learned’. 

He also shared that he suffers from ‘injuries that still affect me to this day’.

Will added: ‘I don’t know if any changes will be made. I’m just a Table Tennis player.

‘I don’t know if I’d have even been listened to or if I’d even be on the news if other things hadn’t happened. I just hope it gets listened to now and other adaptations can be made because of my story really.

‘It’s extremely intense and it’s extremely competitive show.’ 

He also said he outlined what could be improved in letter to the BBC but was disheartened by the response he received. 

He said: ‘I got a response and I was in a bit of a depression when I read it back. I just found it really depressing. It was kind of like ‘We’ve done everything we can do, and we support you’.

‘It felt like I was making a mountain out of a molehill. That’s how I felt that it was. I just hope it gets listened to now and some adaptions get made because of my story.’

Will recently claimed he sustained a lifelong injury while jumping during a performance on the show and blamed his then-partner Janette.

A representative for Janette subsequently told the BBC: ‘Janette had a great time dancing with Will and one of her favourite moments on the show was doing their contemporary couples choice. 

‘Her celebrity partner’s safety and enjoyment was always the priority throughout her time on Strictly. ‘

Janette has never received any complaints and has maintained friendships with all her partners, including Will.’

A resurfaced clip aired during that year’s live shows has shown the devastating moment Will was curled up on the floor in pain after the jump.

The video heard Tess explaining that Will had been injured and would not be dancing that week, as it cut to the sportsman lying on the floor in agony with a medic crouched down helping with first aid.

Janette was also seen visibly distressed as she sat comforting her celebrity partner. In a later part of the video, Janette was herself consoled by fellow professional dancer Nancy Xu. 

‘I jumped off the table and as I landed, I landed with straight legs,’ Will said in the VT at the time. 

‘I thought I’d broke my leg because I’d never felt anything like it before but luckily it’s not as severe as what I thought when I first did it. 

‘To hear the words I ‘absolutely can’t dance’ is just really gutting for me but I need to recover now and come back even stronger next week.’ 

Will was given a week’s pass before he had to withdraw from the competition completely when his injury meant he would have to miss another live show. 

Recalling the ‘horrific pain’ he experienced as he crashed to the ground, the gold medallist, admitted he thought ‘his whole career was over.’

After recovering from his injury Will won both individual and team silver at the rearranged 2020 Tokyo Games in 2021.

Strictly has been plunged into chaos in recent weeks as a number of allegations of abuse from professionals have come to light.

The scandal erupted when actress Amanda Abbington quit the show last year before claiming that her partner Giovanni Pernice was abusive towards her – later leaving the show.

Soon after it emerged that Graziano Di Prima had been sacked for ‘kicking’ his partner Love Island star Zara McDermott.

Next an unnamed female Strictly dancer was brought into the scandal after it was reported that they screamed in their male partner’s face and berated him off-camera.

And on Monday two other professionals – Ola Jordan and Janette – were brought into the drama as the show was branded ‘fatally tarnished’ by one insider.

Amanda quit the show last year before claiming that her partner Giovanni was abusive towards her. He later left the show after vehemently denying all claims.

Amanda, 50, abruptly left the BBC show citing ‘personal issues’ and hasn’t been seen on screen since, even quitting social media last month in the wake of her former dance partner’s sacking.

Giovanni, 33, was suspended while a BBC probe is underway over allegations made by Amanda and two other former celebrity partners. 

Speaking in her first interview over the weekend since quitting Strictly in October, Amanda said Giovanni’s behaviour was ‘unnecessary.’

In an interview with The Sun, Amanda said: ‘I found Giovanni’s behaviour unnecessary, abusive, cruel and mean. I couldn’t sit back and let him do that to other people.’

Fellow Italian dancer Graziano Di Prima was sacked from the programme earlier this month after he was accused of kicking and spitting at Zara. 

Strictly bosses then announced plans to introduce chaperones during training, and the appointment of two new welfare producers, after Graziano’s shock sacking from the show.

Love Island star Zara broke her silence on the scandal last week. 

She wrote on Instagram on Tuesday morning that while much of her time on Strictly ‘was everything I could have dreamt of’ inside the training room with Graziano there were ‘particular incidents which are incredibly distressing’.

‘I felt it was right that I post something regarding the recent media reports,’ Zara began. ‘Strictly is one of the most magical shows on TV and one that I dreamt of being on since I was a little girl.’ 

Zara also admitted that she would’ve chosen a different dance partner on Strictly  than Graziano Di Prima in an unearthed interview.

A throwback clip of the pair has resurfaced, showing Zara voicing a desire to work with a different dancer instead.

Answering questions together with Grazia, Zara and Graziano were asked: ‘If you had to dance with another dancer/contestant for a week, who would you pick?’

Zara immediately said: ‘I know who I would pick, but you go first.’ 

But Graziano refused to pick someone and said: ‘See you later’ as he got up to storm off, while Zara insisted: ‘It’s a game! It is a game.’

But the Italian shot back: ‘Yeah but your brain went there anyway.’

Zara attempted to defend herself, saying she would have only chosen someone she thought was ‘really nice’.

She said: ‘Well no, but I’m just thinking if there was someone who I think is really nice, who I’d also get on with. If I had to dance with another dancer, it would probably Kai [Widdrington] because I really like Kai.’

In response, Graziano changed his answer and said: ‘If I could dance with someone it would probably be Layton [Williams],’ causing Zara to declare: ‘I knew you’d say that!’

And it is not just male dancers who are now facing allegations of abusive behaviour. 

Last week a celebrity who took part in the show claimed that a currently unnamed female Strictly dancer screamed in his face and berated him off-camera. 

The Daily Mirror reported that the household name’s allegations do not include physical abuse. 

A source said: ‘The man in question felt very much victimized by the behaviour of his Strictly partner.

‘He alleges that on several occasions she flew into a real fury when he couldn’t get the steps right, and on one occasion screamed full in his face. They rowed every single day.’

Steve Backshall complained to the BBC about his professional partner on Strictly Come Dancing Ola Jordan back in 2014 claiming she ‘bullied’ him.

The hardened explorer and presenter, now 51, – who has dived with Great White sharks and wrestled poisonous snakes in his career – lodged a complaint with the channel after struggling in gruelling practice sessions.

The bullying claims have reemerged during a time of crisis for the show amid various abuse scandals and a misconduct probe – with insiders now saying that the series is ‘fatally tarnished’.

After he made the complaint the pair were assigned a chaperone to follow them around after he refused to be alone with the now 41-year-old Polish-born dancer. 

The programme’s bosses were forced to step in after he alleged that she had dented his confidence with her ‘rude and impatient’ manner.

A source close to the show explained at the time: ‘Steve is a very bouncy personality, up for any challenge, but Ola’s harsh treatment has flattened him and made him lose confidence.

‘She was very rude and impatient when he found it difficult to master the shapes for last Saturday’s Charleston.

‘Her choreography and tuition was so tough, Steve resorted to asking other people to show him what he had to do. 

‘Ola is a cold and very distant personality, who refuses to mix with Steve’s family and friends,’ the source added.

It is understood that Steve complained directly to one of the Strictly producers after their Halloween-themed Charleston.

It comes after last week Ola’s husband and fellow former pro on the show James furiously hit back after unearthed footage emerged of him telling his partner Georgina Bouzova he would ‘drag her across the floor and scream at her’ if she forgot her moves.

The ballroom dancer and choreographer, 46, slammed the BBC after the clip began doing the rounds again following the recent Giovanni and Graziano scandals – saying most of the footage ‘was not related to Georgina at all’.

The clip, which was filmed during the fourth series back in 2006, shows him rehearsing with actress Georgina.

He also says to her ‘kill you’ as he demands she stands on one leg and insists that unless she has physically broken a rib he doesn’t care what pain she is in. He is also seen throwing a chair across the training studio.

But he has since responded to the clip on his Instagram as he shared a raging statement saying that the footage was ‘edited for entertainment’ and was ‘highly produced and exaggerated’.