BBC Strictly Come Dancing's Giovanni Pernice 'verbally bullied' Amanda Abbington but wasn't 'physically aggressive'

Amanda was paired with Giovanni
-Credit: (Image: BBC)


The BBC has confirmed Strictly Come Dancing's Giovanni Pernice was not 'physically aggressive' towards Amanda Abbington - but was found to have 'verbally bullied and harassed' her. The findings of a lengthy internal investigation into the professional dancer's alleged misconduct has now been made public.

The six-month probe was sparked by claims from the 33-year-old's former celebrity partner, Amanda Abbington, which Giovanni had vehemently denied. Bosses have now ruled Giovanni was not physically abusive, however Amanda's complaints about verbal bullying and harassment were upheld, the Mirror reports.

Amanda has now received an apology from the broadcaster, which said it had upheld "some, but not all" of the complaints made. The BBC thanked the Sherlock actress for "coming forward and taking part".

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A statement released by the broadcaster said: “The BBC has now concluded its review into the complaints made by Amanda Abbington against Giovanni Pernice. We take any allegations of bullying and harassment very seriously and this review has taken time due to its complex nature and our desire to ensure a rigorous and robust process was undertaken.

Strictly Come Dancing is a family show and we rightly expect very high standards. While competition can be tough, rigorous and demanding, we want the show to ultimately be a joyous and transformative experience. It is a great shame if this hasn’t been the case for everyone who has appeared on the show.

"We have assessed the complaints and we have upheld some, but not all, of the complaints made. We want to apologise to Amanda Abbington and to thank her for coming forward and taking part. We know this would not have been an easy thing to do.”

Amanda, 50, quit the dance show last October, citing personal reasons. She went on to claim she'd been left suffering "mild PTSD" after taking part in the show.

In a tearful interview last month, she said she'd raised concerns about the dancer's "nasty" conduct just three days into her training. She described Giovanni's conduct as "inappropriate" adding: "It was mean, it was nasty, it was bullying. And I put up with it for five or six weeks. It started very early on. When it started to happen, I would shut down, because I recognised those red flags."