Nearly a decade before “Dancing With the Stars” professional dancer Artem Chigvintsev was arrested Thursday on suspicion of domestic battery in the Napa Valley town of Yountville, a popular British TV host described his rough treatment of her when they partnered together on the BBC show “Strictly Come Dancing.”
Speaking at a 2015 event hosted by the Times U.K., Fern Britton described his abrasive language and said he kicked and shoved her when he was coaching her through a routine for the British dance competition show, the Daily Mail reported.
“He (Artem) would look at my feet and just kick me or shove me,” said Britton, who competed on the show in 2012 with the Russian dancer. He allegedly would tell her, “You just stand there and don’t move; I dance round you.”
Britton also said he told her, “Shut your face. Go home before I kill you.”
Britton’s comments originally resurfaced last month in connection with a workplace bullying scandal involving male professional dancers on the BBC dance show, the Daily Mail reported. But her comments are sure to gain additional play following the news that Chigvintsev was arrested shortly before 10 a.m. Thursday in Yountville, the Wine Country home of the French Laundry and other upscale restaurants, as TMZ reported.
The identity of the alleged victim in Thursday’s domestic battery incident, and their relationship to Chigvintsev, has not been disclosed. Chigvintsev and his wife, retired TV personality and retired WWE star Nikki Garcia, have a home in the Napa Valley and celebrated their second anniversary on Monday.
It also has not been disclosed whether the arrest took place in a residence or public place. A Napa County Sheriff’s spokesperson told TMZ that an arrest was made at the scene, the victim has asked for confidentiality and there were injuries involved. As the investigation is ongoing, Chigvintsev was said to still be in custody Thursday afternoon, the New York Post reported.
The 5-foot-9-inch, 175-pound dancer was booked under the California Penal Code section related to the infliction of “a corporal injury resulting in a traumatic condition” to an inmate partner, including spouse, former spouse, a cohabitant, fiancé or fiancée, or the mother of father of the offender’s child.
Chigvintsev, who moved from Russia to the United States in 2003, first gained professional notice as a ballroom dancer on “Strictly Come Dancing” in the U.K. in 2010. He switched over to “Dancing With the Stars” in 2014, and his celebrity partners have included Mischa Barton, “Brady Bunch” alum Maureen McCormick and former Olympic figure skater Nancy Kerrigan.
For Season 25 in 2017, Chigvintsev was paired with Garcia, his future wife who competed in the WWE under the name Nicki Bella. They began dating and became engaged in 2020. That year, Garcia also gave birth to their son. They married in Paris on Aug. 26, 2022, and have a reported $1.5 million home in Napa Valley, surrounded by a large plot of land, the New York Post and Life and Style reported. They showed off their home for a November 2023 episode of MTV Cribs.
In celebrating their second wedding anniversary Monday, they each shared videos and photos from their lavish Paris wedding. Garcia accompanied her video with a cover of the Elvis Presley song, “Can’t Help Falling in Love,” and wrote, “This song is our love story.” Chigvintsev replied: “Happy anniversary my love. Can’t see my life with out you. You are my everything I love doing life with you.”
Britton, the British TV personality, meanwhile, offered a less glowing portrait of Chigvintsev in 2015. She said that they “did love each other for a moment or two.” She even said she “did kind of enjoy” the “Strictly Come Dancing” experience, though her partner “wasn’t charm personified” and the experience “was grim at the same time.”
For his part, Chigvintsev hit back at Britton’s claims in a statement to the Daily Express, the Daily Mail reported.
“I believe I treated Fern with respect and genuine care and these claims about me are the opposite of everything I believe in and the person I am,” he said. “I cannot imagine what has prompted such statements which come as a shock to me.”
The “DWTS” regular will not be returning for the show’s upcoming season 33, according to Page Six. “There were no plans for Artem to be a part of Season 33,” a source said.
