ZapGossip

Gemma Collins ‘offers to drop legal action plans for Strictly role’

Gemma Collins is reportedly willing to drop her threat to sue the BBC following her Radio 1 Teen Awards fall – in exchange for a place on ‘Strictly Come Dancing’.
The 36-year-old reality TV star admitted afterwards she was lucky to be alive following her SSE Arena tumble, but it is now said she "will not pursue legal action" if she is able to sign up to the ballroom and Latin show next year.
A source told The Sun: "Gemma is deadly serious about the ‘Strictly’ trade off.
"She has said to BBC that she will not pursue legal action if they give her a slot on the show. She loves Strictly and has always wanted to have a crack at it. She thinks this might be her chance to get on the show."
Gemma was left nursing a bad back and bruises after she dramatically fell through a trap door at the ceremony, and revealed plans to consult her lawyer.
She said: "I’m in total shock. It is a miracle I am living to tell the tale.
"I could have died or at least been disabled at the end of it. I could have been legless. Legless!
"I’ve got to consult a lawyer, yeah. The BBC, they’ve not been in touch with any compensation or anything – or even an apology.
"It’s very important this gets sorted out because really you know what it is – it’s negligence. Do you know what I find shocking? The BBC hasn’t sent any flowers. Nothing."
But BBC insiders later insisted Gemma had been given a "full briefing" before she took to the stage and was warned about the trap door, from which a hydraulic platform lifted out ‘Love Island’ stars Amber Davies, Jamie Jewitt and Marcel Somerville.
The corporation said: "The BBC takes the health and safety of everyone involved very seriously and we are awaiting a full report from Remedy – the production company who made the show – about the incident. But they have told us that Gemma did receive a full briefing before going on stage.
"Before Gemma went on the female producer told her there was a trap door in the middle of the stage. The [producer] told Gemma to stay to the left. It’s not true that Gemma wasn’t warned about it."