Amanda Abbington: What happened in Strictly rehearsal room wasn’t acceptable

The actress has claimed she suffered ‘bullying and aggressive behaviour’.

Amanda Abbington (Belinda Jiao/PA) (PA Archive)

Amanda Abbington has said “what happened to me in that room wasn’t acceptable” as she made claims about the “bullying and aggressive behaviour” of her Strictly Come Dancing partner Giovanni Pernice.

The Sherlock actress added that she wants to encourage people who feel they are in a situation they think is “toxic and unsafe” to complain.

Abbington previously described Pernice’s behaviour as “unnecessary, abusive, cruel and mean”. He strongly denies her claims.

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

Amanda Abbington

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.”

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.

“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”.

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.

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 to the PA news agency 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.”