Amanda Abbington breaks down in tears over ‘brutal, unforgiving’ Strictly nightmare in emotional C4 interview
AMANDA Abbington has said being Strictly’s first whistleblower has been “brutal and unforgiving” in an explosive interview on Channel 4 News.
The actress was partnered with Giovanni Pernice last year but quit the BBC dance competition and claimed he bullied her behind the scenes.
Amanda, 50, told Channel 4 News presenter Krishnan Guru-Murthy that after speaking out she had received “death and rape threats” and “threats to myself and my daughter and threats of death to my son”.
She also claimed some “bullying” by Giovanni was “of sexual nature” and revealed six other Strictly stars complained before her in the tell all TV interview.
Tearful Amanda said: “It’s been brutal and relentless and unforgiving.”
“Well the aftermath has been something that I wasn’t expecting you know, the death threats and rape threats towards not only to myself but to my daughter. And threats of death to my son.”
Krishnan, who has appeared as a contestant on Strictly, said: “By what, Strictly fans?”
Amanda said: “Yeah it’s just been, when you get like one or two of those, you can go, ‘oh you know.’
“But I was getting dozens a day, on social media, dozens. ‘Just go and kill yourself, I hope you die of cancer, your kids will be better off without you as a mother, I hope your daughter gets raped, I hope your son gets stabbed, how could you destroy something like Strictly, you’re a snowflake, you’re an idiot, poor Giovanni’.”
“It was just all the time.”
Amanda said people should be allowed to “voice concerns if you feel like you’re being bullied or if you feel like this situation you are in feels toxic and unsafe.”
She said: “I know what happened to me in, I am not a sensational person. I am not a hysterical person.
“I don’t make things out to be bigger than they are. I know what happened in that room wasn’t acceptable.”
Amanda revealed she raised her concerns in the first week of training with Giovanni and was not taken “seriously”.
She added: “I complained about it, and sort of, had not been taken seriously.
“Not only me, but three other women, and more potentially coming forward.
“We have to cultivate a society and an environment where women can com think we need to brave.”
During the interview, news anchor Krishnan said: “I heard, not from you, from somebody else, about an instance of, I suppose you’d call it humiliating behaviour of a sexual nature, is that right?”
An emotional Amanda said: “Yeah. I mean, you know, one of the many things.”
She also shed light on what went on in the rehearsal room, saying: “It was unnecessary and when stuff was getting thrown at me I’d shut down, because I’ve been in abusive situations before in the past so I recognised the red flags.
“I’d shut down and wouldn’t be able to do it because I felt attacked, not literally attacked.”
In the bombshell interview, Amanda said after she complained cameras were installed in their rehearsal room.
She continued: “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.
“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 BBC spokesperson has said: “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.
Strictly's Full Scandal So Far
Strictly Come Dancing's scandal has been growing over the past few months, with several major players speaking out about what went on. Here are the key moments of what's happened so far
16th May: Giovanni Pernice sensationally quits Strictly Come Dancing after nine years on the show.
17th May: Giovanni becomes the centre of an official investigation after three former partners – believed to be Amanda Abbington, Laura Whitmore and Ranvir Singh – make complaints to the BBC.
16th June: Giovanni releases an official statement vowing to clear his name and denies any wrongdoing.
8th July: Strictly confirms Aljaz Skorjanec will return to the series, replacing Giovanni, after initially quitting the show two years ago.
10th July: Amanda Abbington launches fresh legal proceedings to get the rehearsal footage from her time with Giovanni, after allegedly he refused to release the videos.
13th July: Graziano Di Prima is axed from Strictly for “gross misconduct” after footage of his treatment of Zara McDermott is brought to the attention of the BBC.
Graziano quickly broke his silence, apologising for his behaviour in a statement and saying he “deeply regrets it”, adding his “intense passion and determination to win might have affected his training regime.”
15th July: Strictly bosses implement new duty of care protocols, including having a chaperone present throughout all rehearsals.
16th July: Zara McDermott speaks out publicly for first time. She states while the production team were “amazing to work with”, she found the rehearsal room “completely different”, confirming there’s footage of “certain situations”.
19th July: Anton Du Beke is put under the spotlight for his “1970s attitude” and treatment of female celeb stars, particularly after allegedly referring to 2009 partner Laila Rouass as a “p***” after getting a spray tan.
21st July: Paralympian Will Bayley, who has limb condition arthrogryposis, revealed he was encouraged to leap from a table during a dance routine, despite fears. The stunt caused an injury that forced him to withdraw from the show.
22nd July: MasterChef’s Gregg Wallace admits he broke down in tears and got a nasty stress rash on his face during his time on Strictly in 2014.
23rd July: Celebrity agent Melanie Blake claims she was sexually assaulted by an unnamed pro dancer while backstage on the show, and claims she witnessed ageism, rudeness and a rough treatment to the point of injury.
23rd July: BBC boss Tim Davie breaks his silence on the ongoing allegations against Strictly, saying he is ‘deeply sorry’, adding: “Hundreds of people, be they pros, contestants or crew have been part of it and had a brilliant experience.
“At the same time if someone thinks there was something wrong or they want to talk about their experience then of course we want them to raise that with us. Be in no doubt we will take it seriously, listen and deal with it as appropriate.”
“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.”
In a statement Giovanni Pernice’s spokesperson added: “We are cooperating fully with the BBC’s review process.
“All parties have been asked to respect this process and to not speak to the media before it concludes. We will continue to respect the integrity of the investigation and believe it is the right forum for all the evidence to be reviewed.
“As part of the evidence-led review, the BBC has shared the allegations they have been able to substantiate with us. They do not resemble Amanda’s latest allegations, given to Channel 4, in any shape or form.
“Giovanni refutes any claim of threatening or abusive behaviour, and having provided the BBC with his evidence, is confident that the review will prove this.”