Amanda Abbington reveals ‘pressure’ of Strictly training saying relationship with Giovanni was ‘disastrously unworkable’
AMANDA Abbington has said that Giovanni’s rehearsal style became “disastrously workable” during her tell-all interview.
The actress appeared on the 2023 series of Strictly, but dropped out on “personal grounds”.
Amanda later spearheaded an official complaint against her pro partner, Giovanni Pernice, sparking an investigation into rehearsal practices.
Giovanni has adamantly maintained he’s done nothing wrong, and has vowed to clear his name, but Amanda has now opened up on her own experiences.
On Wednesday, she sat down with Krishnan Guru-Murthy, who competed alongside her on Strictly 2023, to discuss her experience, claiming no BBC execs have contacted her in the wake of the complaint, or even since she left the show.
She also opened up about her personal experience of the training style of Giovanni and her experience with him, claiming that while he would be nice at times, other moments would make him difficult to work with.
“I didn’t do anything wrong in that room. That courtesy wasn’t extended to me, just simple as that,” she said. “And it could have been, so easily.”
“Because there were pockets of moments when that did happen. That he [Giovanni] was nice and he was, you know, positive, and then that quickly ended and it became unworkable again. Disastrously unworkable, horribly unworkable.
“So, I know what I did in that room, and I know I did the best I could do. I know, I worked as hard as I could. I know that I put in 100% commitment to that.”
She also claimed five or six of his former partners had gone through the same experience.
During this discussion, when pressed by Krishnan, she claimed some of her alleged abuse was “sexually humiliating” in nature.
An emotional Amanda confirmed: “Yeah. I mean, you know, one of the many things.”
“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, so I’d shut down and wouldn’t be able to do it because I felt attacked, not literally attacked,” she added.
She added she is confident her complaint will be upheld and that six other Strictly stars came forward before her.
Today, she also appeared on Lorraine, and told hold Christine Bleakley she was subjected “mean, nasty bullying”.
In a statement, Giovanni’s spokesperson said: “We are cooperating fully with the BBC’s review process. All parties have been asked to respect this process and 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.”
A BBC spokesperson 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.”