Strictly Come Dancing: Fern Britton Claims Partner Artem Chigvintsev 'Kicked' And 'Shoved' Her During Training

Fern Britton has spoken out about her "grim" Strictly Come Dancing experience, claiming that her dance partner Artem Chigvintsev "kicked" and "shoved" her during their training.

The TV presenter, who was the fifth celeb to be knocked out in the 2012 series, alleged that he was something of a nightmare to work with.

Eek.

Speaking at an event hosted by The Times, the 57-year-old claimed: "He would look at my feet and just kick me or shove me. He was like, 'Shut your face. Go home before I kill you'.

"I would say, 'Oh please just kill me, it would be easier.' Or what was his other one? 'If you go for a cup of tea now, I will blow off like an atomic bomb'. I thought, well I won’t correct him on that one."

She imitated his accent, alleging that he told her: "You just stand there and don’t move, I dance round you."

Although she admits they "did love each other for a moment or two," she says he "wasn't charmed personified."

The 32-year-old also apparently told the mum-of-four that she was "not what [he was] used to," - "younger and with dance ability" being what he was supposedly used to.

Fern jokingly responded to his comments, saying: "Well I think I’m young and when I’m drunk I dance really well," but her partner was apparently not convinced.

"I did kind of enjoy it but it was grim at the same time," she added of the experience as a whole.

Artem, who only went on to do one more series after dancing with Fern, had previously won the competition with Kara Tointon in 2010, who he later went on to date until they split in October 2014.

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