BBC halts production of Irish dancing documentary following competition-fixing allegations

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The BBC has halted production of an Irish dancing documentary following “serious allegations” of competition fixing.

The documentary, which was a five-part series titled Point Perfect, was pulled by the broadcaster early in production.

The Irish Dancing Commission (CLRG), the prestigious global body that governs Irish dancing, was rocked by an alleged cheating scandal in October.

The CLRG confirmed yesterday that its independent investigation into allegations of cheating has now recommended that 44 cases proceed to a full disciplinary hearing.

Belfast-based production company Stellify Media has been commissioned by the BBC to produce the series.

In a statement released to Independent.ie, a BBC spokesperson said it was unable to go ahead with the series as planned.

At the start of production on the BBC Arts/NI co-production Point Perfect, serious allegations about aspects of competitive Irish dancing were reported in the press, the spokesperson said.

“A number of these allegations are currently being investigated by the relevant authorities. Given this wider context, the BBC is unable to proceed with the series as planned.

“We would like to thank Stellify for their hard work on the series and look forward to working with them on future projects.

The Irish Independent first revealed that last summer allegations of cheating against 12 Irish dance teachers and judges were passed on to the CLRG.

In September, former Court of Appeal judge, Justice Michael Peart, was tasked with helping to establish whether those accused of cheating had a case to answer.

In a statement released on Thursday, the CLRG said the independent investigation team examining allegations of wrongdoing within the CLRG recommended that 44 cases under investigation proceed to a full disciplinary hearing.

“This follows a thorough review of all complaints, grievances and all accompanying evidence submitted by MPs, by the inquiry team led by retired Court of Appeal judge, Justice Michael Peart .

All involved have been notified and suspended from judging responsibilities for CLRG competitions while the disciplinary process is ongoing, he said.

The dance body, which is believed to have more than 2,000 members worldwide, said it is currently recruiting experienced, external people to serve on its disciplinary committee to review cases.

It is understood that a large number of cheating allegations, both recent and historical, have been reported to the CLRG since the revelation of the global alleged cheating scandal.

We would like to reiterate that the CLRG considers all allegations of wrongdoing with the utmost seriousness. We look forward to the external disciplinary panel beginning its work and addressing these issues as soon as possible, a CLRG spokesperson said.

The revelation that the investigation into cheating in the Irish dancing world is deepening comes ahead of a big CLRG meeting on Saturday.

The dance corps is holding an extraordinary general meeting in Belfast on Saturday to address teachers’ concerns over the CLRG’s handling of the cheating scandal.

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