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Privacy NoticeStrictly Come Dancing’s Amanda Abbington has opened up about her experience on the BBC show in her first televised interview, revealing that she felt “abandoned” by the BBC over claims she made about her professional partner Giovanni Pernice. The Sherlock star, 50, pulled out of the dance competition last year and later complained about the conduct of Giovanni, describing him as “unnecessary, abusive, cruel and mean”. The BBC has launched an inquiry into Amanda’s complaint and Giovanni – who has left the show – said earlier this year: “I reject any suggestion of abusive or threatening behaviour, and I look forward to clearing my name.” Speaking to Channel 4 News ahead of tonight’s episode, Amanda said of the backlash she faced when speaking out about her experience: “It’s been brutal, and relentless and unforgiving. The aftermath has been something that I wasn’t expecting. You know, the death threats and the rape threats towards not only myself but my daughter, and threats of deaths to my son,” according to The Mirror.
Amanda Abbington was emotional in the candid interview
She added that her lawyers are currently trying to access 50 hours of rehearsal room footage filmed by BBC bosses, who installed cameras after she raised her initial concerns. She said: “There’s 50 hours of footage that’s being blocked. You know, 50 hours is a lot of footage, and a lot of time spent in a room that was toxic.” She continued: “So in the first week, I raised my concerns to the producers. Giovanni said that he asked for the cameras, he didn’t ask for the cameras, I know that he didn’t ask for the cameras, because the producers came to me and said, ‘we’re going to put in cameras so we can view the footage at the end of the week and make an assessment and see what’s going on’. “And then every Friday, after the next sort of five weeks, I would get the producer saying, on the Friday, ‘we just watched the footage back, we are shocked and horrified, we’re so sorry’. That was to my face on the Friday when we would go in and do the camera rehearsal.
Amanda Abbington competed with Giovanni Pernice on Strictly Come Dancing last year
(Image: PA)
“It’s out there. There is evidence out there of what happened in that room and I’m not the one who’s blocking it. I’ve said anyone can watch it, but he (Giovanni) doesn’t want anyone to see it, which is quite telling if he’s got nothing to hide.” A spokesperson for Giovanni said: “The BBC has shared allegations from the inquiry with Giovanni, who has cooperated fully. None of the allegations carried in the Sun on Sunday are included in any shape or form. “Giovanni refutes these allegations and denies any accusations of abusive or threatening behaviour. He has provided substantive evidence to the investigation, and he remains fully confident of clearing his name.” A spokesperson from the BBC told OK!: “Anyone involved in a complaint has a right to confidentiality and fair process and therefore it would be inappropriate to comment further on individuals. However, when issues are raised with us we always take them extremely seriously and have appropriate processes in place to manage this. As we have said before, we would urge people not to indulge in speculation. “More generally, the BBC and BBC Studios takes duty of care extremely seriously. Our processes on Strictly Come Dancing are updated every year, they are kept under constant review and last week we announced additional steps to further strengthen welfare and support on the show. “ The BBC Director General Tim Davies spoke out about the show earlier this week, apologising to contestants who have had an experience that “hasn’t been wholly positive”. He added on Tuesday 23 July that there will inevitably be “competitiveness, hard work and the will to do well” on the show, “but there are limits and the line should never be crossed”. Story SavedYou can find this story in My Bookmarks.Or by navigating to the user icon in the top right.Follow OK! MagazineFacebookTwitterCommentMore OnGiovanni PerniceStrictly Come Dancing
