Oh, dear, what did they expect? A few gentle waltzes accompanied by tea and sympathy? I’m close to losing it with all the whingeing, whining and cries of misogyny emanating from former contestants of Strictly.

Actress Amanda Abbington says last year’s series left her with post-traumatic stress disorder. Eh? This was a dance competition, not Operation Desert Storm.

If she thinks the TV show is stressful, what a shame she never met my grandmother, who came up from an air raid shelter one morning to find she had no home left. My mother, meanwhile, never knew if my father’s ship was going to be torpedoed.

A couple of years earlier she had produced twins, one stillborn, one temporarily paralysed. That is what I call ‘stress’ – but that generation just got on with it.

Zara McDermott was kicked and shoved by her dance partner Graziano di Prima. But why wait so long to complain?

I’m close to losing it with all the whingeing, whining and cries of misogyny from Strictly contestants, writes Anne Widdecombe (pictured in 2019)

Actress Amanda Abbington pictured struggling with the rehearsals Strictly Come Dancing 2023

Anne Widdecombe pictured competing with her partner Anton Du Beke in 2010

Ms Widdecombe pictured training with her partner Du Beke in preparation for a show 

Laura Whitmore (pictured with her partner Giovanni Pernice) says she cried every day during rehearsals for the 2016 show

Zara McDermott was kicked and shoved by her dance partner Graziano di Prima (pictured together during last year’s competition)

Laura Whitmore says she cried every day during rehearsals for the 2016 show.

If something was making me cry every day, I would act as fast as possible. We expect teenagers to sulk and brood after an unfortunate event. But adults should be wise enough to nip bad situations in the bud, at the time – not months down the line.

I went on Strictly in 2010. Since I am tone deaf and can’t hear beats in music, my dance partner, Anton Du Beke, realised that we should forget the glitterball and provide viewers with comedy. Otherwise, it would have been he who cried every day with despair.

My experience was very different from those now complaining about being verbally and physically abused. But the celebs have always been in control. Indeed, a professional dancer amused me with a story of how he drove miles to Brighton for a training session only to find his partner had gone shopping for a new bathroom.

Of course, the professionals are demanding. How else are they meant to bring amateurs up to scratch in a few short weeks? 

They need to devise choreography, train their celebrity partner, and then put the results on display in front of millions. 

It is a recipe for tension, but grown-ups should be able to recognise and deal with that. Perhaps Strictly should copy ITV’s Big Brother and employ a resident shrink.