Has this year's series of Strictly been tainted by ten months of scandals? Vote in our poll

Strictly Come Dancing will return for its 20th anniversary series this Saturday, where the celebrities will be paired up with their professional partners - but do YOU think the show has been tainted by recent scandals?

The BBC One launch show will welcome back judges Anton Du Beke, Motsi Mabuse, Craig Revel Horwood and Shirley Ballas, alongside hosts Tess Daly and Claudia Winkleman. They will be joined by the professional dancers from last year’s series, as well as Amy Dowden and Aljaz Skorjanec.

However, there will be two dancers noticeably missing from the established line-up - Giovanni Pernice and Graziano Di Prima. Giovanni left the show in May following claims of "inappropriate" behaviour from his former dance partner Amanda Abbington.

They were partnered together on last year's series and Amanda has made allegations of "bullying" and "aggressive behaviour," which Giovanni has vehemently denied. Speaking on ITV 's Lorraine, Amanda said: "It was bullying and I put up with it for five weeks. It started very early on and when it started to happen I shut down because I recognised those red flags."

Amanda insisted she'd tried to warn bosses about the situation, but her complaints were quietly dismissed. "I’ve got texts to the producer on the third day saying 'This is awful, he hates me, I don’t know what I’m doing wrong.'" Meanwhile, a spokesman for Giovanni Pernice has said: "We would urge people to wait for the review's conclusion and not to pay heed to these very serious and defamatory allegations that have no evidence in support of them."

It's claimed that the findings of the BBC's internal investigation are reported to be released in the coming days. The Sun reports that, "the £250,000 probe has now reviewed all evidence".

Amid the scandal, the BBC announced it was introducing "additional steps to strengthen welfare and support" on the show moving forward. This will include having a production team member present in training room rehearsals "at all times".

This comes after Graziano was fired following allegations that he verbally and physically abused his dance partner Zara McDermott. There was reportedly video footage of Graziano’s alleged behaviour towards Zara, which reduced those who’ve seen it "to tears".

In a statement on Instagram, Zara said that while much of her Strictly journey was "amazing", she added: "My experience inside the training room was very different. Reports have been made about my treatment on the show and there were witnesses to some events, as well as videos of particular incidents which are incredibly distressing to watch.

"I have wrestled with the fear of opening up- I was scared about public backlash, I was scared about my future, I was scared of victim shaming. But after a lot of conversations with those I love, I've gained the strength to face these fears, and when I was asked to speak to the BBC, I spoke candidly about my time on the show."

The pro dancer is alleged to have kicked, spat and hit her. Graziano has since expressed that he "deeply regrets" what happened that led to his departure. In an interview with BBC News, Graziano's spokesperson Mark Borkowski stated: "There is never a time when kicking, or any sense of that is right. And he knows that. He knows he's made a mistake. He apologised at the time."

He also dismissed the idea that this single incident was indicative of what transpired during "weeks and weeks of training" as "absolute rubbish". The Italian dancer has since told the Mail on Sunday: "I wasn't meaning to kick her. I'd never, never do that.

"My foot brushed her after I kicked the floor. Afterwards I hugged her and said I was sorry. There was no problem. We carried on. "According to the Daily Mail, BBC executives are said to be "deeply worried" that the fans will stop watching as controversy continues to surround the show.

A source said: "The last nine months have been a disaster. With no idea where it is going to end, the anxiety amongst the upper echelons of the BBC is through the roof." Do you think this year’s series of Strictly has been tainted by months of scandals? Vote in our poll HERE to have your say.

The Mirror will also be discussing the topic with you in the comments section below and you can join in! All you have to do is sign up, submit your comment, register your details and then you can take part.