Angela Rippon reveals her Strictly partner Kai Widdrington refused to let camera crews tape some of their rehearsals as he 'never, ever wanted dance filmed' to maintain 'surprise Easter egg' moment

Angela Rippon has revealed her former Strictly Come Dancing partner Kai Widdrington refused to let all of their rehearsals be filmed in order to maintain secrecy over their first routine. Angela Rippon has revealed her former Strictly Come Dancing partner Kai Widdrington refused to let all of their rehearsals be filmed in order to maintain secrecy over their first routine The broadcaster, 79, appeared on the BBC show last year, with her and Kai, 29, making it all the way to Blackpool Week, before being eliminated. The popular show has been thrown into turmoil amid allegations of 'bullying' and abuse for two of its former dancers, Graziano Di Prima and Giovanni Pernice Graziano has admitted to kicking his partner and Love Island star, Zara McDermott, in training while Giovanni's partner, Amanda Abbington, has accused the Italian dancer of bullying her in rehearsals - both while the cameras were off Angela has opened up on her time training on the show and revealed that Kai had once deliberately banned camera crews from recording their rehearsals for their first dance Dancing the Cha-cha-cha to Shirley Bassey's Get the Party Started, she left fans open-mouthed as she ended the routine by stretching her leg all the way up to her head, in an incredibly display of flexibility Recalling how she practiced the move with Kai, Angela explained how the professional dancer was insistent it was never filmed so that it could be a huge surprise for the audience She said: 'We did the whole dance and everybody saw me do it for the first time. Earlier this month, Angela discussed the introduction of new measures on the BBC show, insisted that she 'didn't need a chaperone' when partnered with Kai and calling him a 'gentleman' She also expressed her disappointment that Kai was not getting a celebrity partner in this series, saying 'the female celebrities are missing out' 'Some of us don't get partners and that's the way it is.