Giovanni Pernice Breaks Silence on Amanda Abbington Feud With Shocking New Claims
STRICTLY’S Giovanni Pernice has revealed his feud with former celebrity show partner Amanda Abbington left him wanting to ‘end it all’ as he opens up on the ‘bullying’ row for the first time in his new memoir.
The Italian dancer found himself at the centre of an investigation by the Beeb in mid 2024 when Sherlock star Amanda, who teamed up with Gio on the 2023 series, accused him of bullying and harassment.
Former Strictly pro dancer Giovanni Pernice has claimed he was left feeling suicidal after being the subject of a bullying probe in 2024Credit: Rex
Former celeb partner Amanda Abbington accused the star of bullying and harassment in the rehearsal room, with the BBC upholding six out of 16 of her complaintsCredit: Ray Burniston/BBC/PA Wire
The 34-year-old Sicilian was probed over 16 allegations in total, with the broadcaster clearing him on 10 counts, but upholding six of the complaints.
Show bosses later apologised to Amanda, 53, with her only just receiving a five-figure out-of-court settlement from BBC Studios and a contribution to her legal fees over the fall-out last week.
The actress exclusively gave her side of the story in an interview with The Sun in 2024.
Now, in his new tell-all book, titled ‘Gio my story’, the dancer claimed the public row left him feeling suicidal.
Amanda said that she complained to the BBC after three or four days of being partnered with GioCredit: Pixel8000
Gio alleges that the two’s relationship was made up of ‘banter’Credit: PA
“Hunched on the sofa of my London flat, I scrolled through my phone as story after story brought bad news, plunging me deeper into depression,” an extract reads.
“Is it worth it? I asked myself. What would happen if I wasn’t here any more? Who would care?
“Tomorrow, I pledged, I would end it all. My life was over and the emotional pain was becoming unbearable.”
Elsewhere in the book, as serialised in the Daily Mail, Gio also opened up on his and Amanda’s working relationship, which he alleges was made up of ‘banter’, consisting of “bad language, jokily calling each other the ‘C’ word”.
The ex-Strictly pro even claims that Amanda performed a Nazi salute in front of him, saying it was part of the pair’s ‘banter’.
The Sun has reached out for comment to Amanda Abbington over the claims.
The Italian won Strictly in 2021 with actress Rose Ayling-Ellis, but quit three years later after the probe.
His departure came after we reported how the dancer had told pals he wanted to step away from the dance competition after facing allegations over his tough training methods from previous celebrity partners.
It was later revealed that the Italian dancer was being investigated by the Beeb after at least three of his former celebrity partners made complaints about him.
In his new memoir, Giovanni stated that his Sicilian heritage made him ‘push’ his celebrity partners for better results on the dancefloor.
“Some celebrities think they can rehearse for only three or four hours a day. But that achieves nothing. I’m Sicilian. I push as much as I can.
“It’s like when you go to the gym and the personal trainer says: ‘Come on, push, push, work harder.’”
Amanda revealed that her Strictly nightmare with Giovanni got so bad that she was relieved when a cancer scare meant she could quit the showCredit: BBC
Just this week, Amanda was given a five-figure out-of-court settlement from BBC StudiosCredit: PA
He claims that another celebrity in the 2023 series had confided to him that in a WhatsApp group, Amanda had said that “she wanted to quit because you [Giovanni] are too much”.
Following the revelation, Gio added that Amanda later said “she had complained about me to BBC producers after three or four days.”
The Sherlock star left the BBC1 show in week five of the series in October 2023, citing personal and medical reasons.
She later revealed that her Strictly nightmare with Giovanni got so bad that she was relieved when a cancer scare meant she could quit the show.
Amanda previously branded the Strictly pro “abusive, cruel and mean’ with her being diagnosed with PTSD shortly after her show stint.
During the inquiry it was revealed that Giovanni made a crude sexual remark to Amanda.
“When I got a dance step right he would outline his erection in his trousers and tell me my dance move made that happen, because I got it right,” she told Newsnight’s Victoria Derbyshire.
“The other sexual allegation was verbal. They weren’t isolated one-off incidents.”
“It was an ongoing litany of being verbally abused, sexual innuendo, sexual gestures. There was a 35 minute rant at me with him throwing his hands in the air and calling me names and how he couldn’t cope with it anymore.
The inquiry also heard that Giovanni seemed to give up teaching Amanda because he did not think they were going to win.
Amanda Abbington claims Giovanni made a crude sexual remark to her in the training roomsCredit: Eyevine
Amanda previously branded Gio ‘abusive, cruel and mean’ following her experience with himCredit: BBC
A source told The Sun following Amanda’s settlement last week: “Amanda’s friends and family are all relieved for her that this ordeal is finally over. It’s been a long, hard journey, but now she can close this chapter and move on with her life.
“The fact the BBC have compensated Amanda as well as previously publicly apologising really proves that they are taking responsibility for the bullying she suffered on set.
“She hopes that this case will give others strength and encourage people to speak up.”
In the inquiry, Giovanni admitted making “vegetable” and “lazy” comments to Amanda during training but said they were about her body posture so it was not upheld to be bullying.
The BBC report upheld that Giovanni’s language and his tone was “belittling, dismissive and insulting” in a way that was disproportionate and unmerited.
At the time, a spokesman for the BBC said: “The BBC has now concluded its review. 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 it 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.
“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.”
