Amanda Abbington today slammed the ‘toxic environment’ at Strictly Come Dancing as she repeated bullying allegations against Giovanni Pernice.
The Sherlock actress has made a series of accusations about the teaching methods of her professional dancer partner on Strictly, who has since left the BBC One show.
The couple were paired for the show last year but Abbington left after week six – and she has since made a series of allegations about her time on the programme.
Speaking to ITV‘s Lorraine today, Abbington said: ‘I felt I had to speak up because I don’t want people to be frightened of speaking about if they’re being bullied or if they feel they are in a difficult situation or if they feel like they are not being heard.
‘I do feel I have the right to say it was a toxic environment that I was in while I was rehearsing, because it was. I know what happened in the room, and it would be remiss of me if I was to just say ‘it’s fine, I don’t want to talk about it’.
Sherlock actress Amanda Abbington appears on ITV’s Lorraine today to talk about Strictly
Amanda Abbington has criticised the behaviour of professional dancer Giovanni Pernice
Amanda Abbington on ITV’s Lorraine today as she is interviewed about Strictly Come Dancing
Christine Lampard interviews actress Amanda Abbington on ITV’s Lorraine this morning
‘It’s important that women and men, because men get bullied as well, it’s important that women feel they are in a safe space where they can stand up and go ‘this is inappropriate behaviour and it needs to be recognised’. And I don’t want women to feel like they can’t speak out.’
Speaking to 2008 Strictly contestant Christine Lampard, who was hosting Lorraine today, Abbington added: ‘It was inappropriate, it was mean, it was nasty, it was bullying and I put up with it for five, six weeks.
‘It started very early on and when it started to happen I would shut down because I recognised those red flags.
‘And so I would shut down and it would be difficult to get in, and that would be a self-fulfilling prophecy.’
She said the issues began early on, saying: ‘Week one, third day. I’ve got texts to the producer on day three going ‘This is awful, he hates me, I don’t know what I’m doing wrong. I’m trying my best, I promise you’. So that was the first week.’
Asked whether there were further discussions at that stage, she said: ‘Many, many. And I was going into the rehearsal room every day. I’ve been in rehearsal rooms for 32 years.’
Abbington added that she was currently working in a rehearsal room ahead of her forthcoming play ‘When it Happens to You’, which begins at the Park Theatre in London on July 31.
And she described rehearsal rooms as ‘one of the most beautiful, safe spaces’, adding: ‘I know what rehearsal rooms are supposed to be life.
‘I don’t care what background you’re from – whether it’s dancing, acting, singing – you have a duty of care to bring into that rehearsal room compassion, understanding, sensitivity and kindness.
‘And that wasn’t extended to me (at Strictly). And so I just said I don’t think this is right.’
She also discussed as-yet unseen Strictly rehearsal room footage with Lampard, telling her: ‘There’s extensive footage that I haven’t blocked. I’ve not blocked it.’
Lampard said: ‘At this point we’re certainly being told it’s BBC footage. We’re being led to believe Giovanni hasn’t blocked it either. It’s the BBC, it’s their footage. But that I’m guessing will come out as part of this investigation. We’ll have to see this at some point.’
And Abbington replied: ‘Yeah, I don’t know how it’s working. My lawyer is incredible. She’s been by my side since I decided to complain about it and she knows all the minutia and the ins and outs of that.
‘I wasn’t expecting to have to do any of this. I was expecting to go onto a reality dance show, have a nice time and then leave having a nice experience.’
Asked if the problems could have been nipped in the bud earlier had the complaint been dealt with differently, Abbington said: ‘I genuinely don’t know, I really don’t. I can only speak from my personal experience and also from people who spoke to me who also went through it.
‘We all had the same experience and I don’t know what happened – I don’t know where the breakdown was. I don’t know where the miscommunication happened. But it certainly had a lasting effect on not only be but also several other people before me.’
Asked about the trolling she had suffered since raising her concerns, Abbington said: ‘I knew that raising and voicing my concerns probably would mark me as public enemy number one, I realise that.
‘But I didn’t expect the onslaught I got and the consistent, persistent amount of death threats and rape threats not only to me but to my children and members of my family, Jonathan [her fiancé Jonathan Goodwin] included.’
She said she took so many screenshots of abusive messages that she had to stop because ‘it was starting to really affect my mental health’.
Abbington continued: ‘I was just thinking, ‘God, everybody hates me, and everybody wants me dead, and wants me to die of cancer and wants my children to…’. ‘I hope you die of cancer’ – quite a few of those.
‘And quite a few – ‘I’m sitting her laughing at the thought that your daughter gets raped in front of you because of what you did to Giovanni. And I’m so sorry if that’s upset anybody watching – I’m so sorry, but things like that were happening every day for eight months.’
Speaking about how it had changed how she lives her life, Abbington said: ‘Yeah, completely. I go outside worried because I had messages saying ‘watch your back because you’re going after Giovanni’.
‘I’m not. I just literally said ‘I’m not sure this is appropriate behaviour, can we address it’? That’s all I did. And the onslaught I’ve had for eight months – relentless, I’m off social media now, and I don’t really go out much, and when I do I feel very vulnerable and exposed.
‘And I worry about my kids, I do, because 16 and 18, they don’t need their mum to go through that and they don’t need to. They’re amazing, my children.’
She added: ‘Can women not voice their concerns about anything without being called hysterical or over-reactionary?’
Speaking what she would like to happen next with Strictly, Abbington said: ‘I love Strictly, I think this is just an anomaly. I always wanted to do that show. I think it’s such a beautiful British institution and I think everybody loves it.
‘It’s like when I was a kid watching Morecambe and Wise. It’s the same thing. You tune in on Saturday night to watch Strictly.’
She added: ‘Most people on that show are wonderful and I’ve made some good friends on that show, and I don’t want it to end.
‘I want it to have a beautiful extended life because it’s Saturday night entertainment. I don’t know what the answer is, I don’t because it’s not up to me.’
For herself, Abbington said: ‘I would like an apology and I would like this not to happen to people working in that corporation again. I’d like women to be listened to and heard, and taken seriously.’
Speaking about whether she was confident in the BBC investigation, its conclusion and being able to move on, Abbington said: ‘Yeah. I hope so.
‘I don’t know what’s going to happen, but I know what happened in that room and I know that I did nothing wrong and I know that I left that show with my head held high knowing that I’d done the best that I could do.’
Asked whether she had had any calls in relation to aftercare, she said: ‘The producers got in touch with me a few times after I left but I’ve not really heard from them.
But she insisted that should would speak to people if they called, saying: ‘Completely. I’ve got nothing to hide. I did nothing wrong.’
During the programme, Abbington was also asked about her wedding plans with Goodwin.
And she said: ‘Next year. Hopefully this won’t drag on until next year, hopefully. But next year we’re looking to get married and we’re going to have a really big weekend extravaganza with our friends and family.’
Abbington also praised Goodwin for his support, saying: ‘He’s amazing – everything that he’s been through, and he still manages to be confident and funny and everything about him is an inspiration.
‘He’s my hero really, he’s by my side all the time, he’s my number one fan and I’m his. He’s a joy. I’m very lucky.’
It comes after Abbington gave a tearful interview to Channel 4 News last night, saying ‘what happened to me in that room wasn’t acceptable’ as she made claims about the ‘bullying and aggressive behaviour’ of Pernice.
She added that she wants to encourage people who feel they are in a situation they think is ‘toxic and unsafe’ to complain.
Amanda Abbington gave an emotional interview to Channel 4 News yesterday and spoke about the online trolling she received after quitting Strictly Come Dancing last year
And she alleged she had suffered ‘humiliating behaviour of a sexual nature’ on Strictly.
Abbington previously described Pernice’s behaviour as ‘unnecessary, abusive, cruel and mean’. He strongly denies her claims.
In an interview with her former Strictly co-star Krishnan Guru-Murthy for Channel 4 News, she said: ‘I know it happened because it happened to me. I am not a sensational person… I’m not hysterical. I don’t make things out to be bigger than they are.
‘I know what happened to me in that room wasn’t acceptable. I complained about it and sort of have not been taken seriously.’
Guru-Murthy said that he had heard there was an instance which could be described as ‘humiliating behaviour of a sexual nature’, asking: ‘Is that right?’
And Abbington replied: ‘Yeah, I mean, you know, one of the many things.’
She claimed there are 50 hours of video footage – from cameras she alleges were installed after she raised concerns during her first week – which Pernice ‘doesn’t want anyone to see’ but have been reviewed by the BBC.
Asked by Guru-Murthy if she was talking about bullying, she replied: ‘Yes, it’s bullying and it’s aggressive behaviour. There were other things that were very upsetting, that you manage in the room at the time, because you’re a woman, and you have to manage those things because otherwise, what do you do?’
The actress claimed producers were ‘shocked and horrified’ after they viewed her training films, but says she is unable to provide more detail because of the ongoing BBC review of her complaint.
A spokesperson for Pernice said: ‘We are co-operating 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.
Strictly Come Dancing professional dancers and celebrities on the show on October 21, 2023
‘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.
‘We would urge people to wait for the review’s conclusion and not to pay heed to these very serious and defamatory allegations that have no evidence in support of them.’
Abbington said that since she made claims about her experience on Strictly, she has received ‘rape threats towards not only myself, but my daughter and the threats of death to my son’, adding they have been ‘brutal, relentless and unforgiving’.
Strictly Come Dancing judges (left to right) Craig Revel Horwood, Motsi Mabuse, Shirley Ballas and Anton Du Beke during their appearance on the live show on October 21, 2023
Asked if these came from Strictly fans, she agreed and also alleged the behaviour came from supporters of Pernice.
There has been a storm of negative stories about the culture on the BBC’s flagship programme and the treatment of contestants.
Abbington said she knows of ‘three other women’ who went through something similar during their Strictly experiences and there are ‘potentially’ more people coming forward.
The actress also clarified there are ‘five or six (other complainants) from what I can gather, but there’s three main people who’ve made complaints, mine’s the official one’.
She said some of Pernice’s former dancer partners told her ‘I’m so sorry’, when they heard the news that she had been partnered with him.
Strictly Come Dancing professionals and choreographers posed for a photograph on Monday to mark the first day of rehearsals for the upcoming series of the flagship BBC programme
On Tuesday, BBC director-general Tim Davie apologised to contestants who had an experience that ‘hasn’t been wholly positive’, and maintained the show would return.
Abbington said she was ‘glad’ Mr Davie ‘acknowledged it’.
Professional dancer Graziano Di Prima left the show after allegations about his treatment of Love Island star Zara McDermott, while Paralympian Will Bayley said he suffered a serious injury while performing a jump in Strictly rehearsals, and claimed he was shown ‘no duty of care’.
A BBC statement 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.
‘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.’
