Amanda Abbington and Giovanni Pernice’s previous dance partners “cried” when they met.

The Sherlock actress last night shared her joy after the BBC concluded it’s internal investigation into allegations made by the star. She alleged that during her time on Strictly Come Dancing, she had been subjected to abuse from Pernice who was later sacked from his role on the BBC programme.

Bosses at the BBC upheld six of the 17 claims put forward by Amanda. The upheld allegations include complaints of verbal bullying as well as harassment. Giovanni was subsequently cleared of allegations of threatening and abusive behaviour. Throughout the investigation, the Italian dancer strongly denied the claims and stated the investigation would clear his name.

Amanda, 50, admits she has “no regrets” about making her initial complaints and has endured “one of the worst years” of her life. Speaking to BBC’s Victoria Derbyshire on Newsnight, she said she had met up with several of Giovanni’s former dance partners and things became quite emotional.

The star claims she was put in contact with his former partners through mutual friends and “invited them over”. “We just wanted to make sure we weren’t on our own thinking this had only happened to us because we all have said the same thing,” she told Derbyshire.

Amanda made a string of allegations against Giovanni Pernice – who denied the claims throughout the investigation ( 
Image:
BBC)
She added: “It wasn’t pleasant, it wasn’t what the others were going through in other rooms. We wanted to connect with each other.” When probed on how the meeting with his former partners had gone down, Amanda explained that the group “cried and burst into tears.” Amanda added: “We all said the same thing, it was managing a room and having to look after our own mental and physical well-being within that room.”

Addressing the lengthy investigation, Amanda commented: “It’s nice. It’s a relief that they’ve apologised.” She went on to say that almost half of her complaints were upheld but there was a “significant reason” why this happened and her advisors will be continuing to investigate the allegations.

When prompted on why they were upheld, she told Derbyshire that she was unable to go into detail. She later added: “What’s been said at the moment out there is just not true. There were some very serious things that went on and they were upheld by the BBC. There were breaches off all the codes of conduct.” Discussing complaints that were upheld from what happened in the rehearsal room, Amanda said it was an “ongoing litany of being verbally abused” by Giovanni and a 35-minute “rant” at her, including name-calling. Amanda said she is “open to criticism” and “doesn’t make problems or trouble where there isn’t any”.

Amanda then revealed she first told producers of her concerns “after about three or four days of being in the rehearsal room”. She claims they told her they were sorry and would monitor the situation. “I think the cameras went in quite soon after that,” she added. “This wasn’t an isolated incident and I know it had happened before to other contestants.”

While it remains unclear which of Giovanni’s partners Amanda had spoken to, several have come forward to discuss their experience on the programme. Former Love Island host Laura Whitmore was one of the celebrities who had spoken to the BBC after experiencing what she claimed was “inappropriate” behaviour.

Laura claimed she first raised concerns back in 2016 and in August 2024, she accused the BBC of ‘gaslighting’ her over her experience with the Italian dancer. Taking to her Instagram stories after the probe verdict, Laura wrote: “‘I hope this helps people realise they should not be subjected to abusive behaviour in the workplace.

“Things can be twisted online and there’s so much more to this but in black and white there were complaints upheld and an apology made. And the perpetrator no longer works for the channel.” Laura was one of the first celebrities to publicly show support for Amanda after she made her initial complaint. In a lengthy statement, she said she had initially raised concerns in 2016 and believed that her experience was “specific” to her. “I’ve since learned I was wrong,” Laura said.

She added: “Things can be twisted online and there’s so much more to this but in black and white there were complaints upheld and an apology made. And the perpetrator no longer works for the channel.”

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Source: Tampa Bay Times