AMANDA Abbington has hit back at Giovanni Pernice after he returned to British television this morning and called their relationship “perfect”.
The actress, 50, lodged a series of complaints against the Italian pro and quit after just six weeks on the show amid claims of bullying in rehearsals.
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Amanda Abbington turned on Giovanni Pernice after his return to British television
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Giovanni insisted things were ‘perfect’ between him and Amanda before her Strictly exit Credit: Rex
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Giovanni insisted he was not a bully when he appeared on Lorraine Credits: Rex today
The BBC accepted six of the 17 complaints and publicly apologized to Amanda, although Giovanni was cleared of the more serious charges.
He appeared on Lorraine today and insisted that while his methods are strict, he won’t change them.
He also called Amanda a “brilliant” dancer and said he would like to have a cup of tea with her to iron out their problems.
But in an exclusive statement to The Sun, Amanda’s team said: “Mr Pernice’s claim that ‘everything in the rehearsal room worked perfectly’ is false and misleading, and highlights the toxic culture Ms Abbington endured on Strictly Come Dancing.
READ MORE ABOUT AMANDA ABBINGTON
“The BBC’s own investigation concluded that Mr Pernice breached multiple BBC policies, including repeated breaches of the anti-bullying and harassment policy. The BBC spoke to Mr Pernice several times about his misconduct – but his behavior only continued.
“At no time did Ms. Abbington consider his verbal abuse or inappropriate behavior to be teasing. This is exactly the kind of behavior that victims of bullying and harassment often have to endure: these are the people Ms. Abbington will continue to represent.
“Ms Abbington remains concerned about the way the BBC investigated her complaint and the leak of the investigation report to the press, and will be meeting the corporation in due course to discuss this in more detail.”
Giovanni’s appearance on Lorraine comes as he competes on the Italian version of Strictly with actress Bianca Guaccero.
He’s consistently topping the charts in his home country and keeping his UK fans updated on Instagram.
Today he told host Christine Lampard that he believes Amanda has what it takes to win the Glitterball.
Amanda Abbington revealed Giovanni Pernice’s shocking sexual gesture to her during rehearsals as she spoke to a BBC investigation
He said: “When you have someone like Amanda in your hands, she was brilliant and amazing at dancing.
“I’m upset because we could have made it all the way to the final. My job is to get everything out of my partner. It’s public domain, the fact that I’m a strict teacher. If you want to achieve greatness, I think this is the way to go.”
He denied ever confronting the actress in the rehearsal room, despite her claims that he made abusive comments to her.
“The investigation did not find me as a violent person,” he said. “Abuser is a big word, there’s a big difference between abuse and caring about what you’re doing.
“All I had was ‘Giovanni, you’re an amazing teacher, Giovanni, you’re great’.”
He continued: “Everything was perfect at the time, me and Amanda Abbington never had a fight.”
He referred to his career successes, including raising Glitterball with Rose Ayling-Ellis and his current top spot on the Italian version of the show, to justify his methods.
He said, “Teaching the way I teach is a successful way to approach this.”
He added: “If you come into the room with me and say ‘you really want to win this’, I will do everything in my power to win this.
“If you suddenly change this and don’t tell me, there’s nothing I can do. I don’t read minds.
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Amanda burst into tears during an interview with Channel 4 in JulyCredit: PA
“I’m very, very competitive. I’ll make sure I do everything to get the best out of you.”
Giovanni declined to answer whether he still had a future on Strictly, instead replying that he was busy with work in Italy and an upcoming theater tour.
He decided to leave Strictly in May after nine years on the BBC dance show.
It comes after he faced accusations over his training methods with his former celebrity partners, including Amanda.
The BBC released the findings of its five-month investigation into the alleged scandal, and Giovanni was cleared of 11 of the 17 charges against him.
However, instances were found where the professional dancer used “disparaging” language towards her.
Strictly’s full scandal so far
The scandal surrounding Strictly Come Dancing has been growing over the past few months, with several of the main players speaking out about what happened. Here are the key moments of what has happened so far
May 16: Giovanni Pernice makes a sensational exit from Strictly Come Dancing after nine years on the show.
May 17: Giovanni becomes the focus of an official investigation after three former partners – believed to be Amanda Abbington, Laura Whitmore and Ranvir Singh – complain to the BBC.
June 16: Giovanni releases an official statement promising to clear his name and denying any wrongdoing.
July 8: Strictly confirms that Aljaz Skorjanec will return to the series, replacing Giovanni, after originally leaving the series two years ago.
July 10: Amanda Abbington launches new legal action to obtain rehearsal footage from her time with Giovanni, after he allegedly refused to release the videos.
July 13: Graziano Di Prima is booted from Strictly for “gross misconduct” after footage of his behavior towards Zara McDermott was provided to the BBC.
Graziano quickly broke his silence, apologizing for his behavior in a statement and saying he “deeply regrets it,” adding that his “intense passion and determination to win may have affected his training regimen.”
July 15: Strictly bosses implement new care protocols, including the presence of a chaperone during all rehearsals.
July 16: Zara McDermott speaks publicly for the first time. She states that while the production team was “amazing to work with”, she found the rehearsal room “completely different”, confirming that there are recordings of “certain situations”.
July 19: Anton Du Beke has been put under the spotlight for his “1970s attitude” and treatment of celebrity stars, particularly after he allegedly called 2009 partner Laila Rouass a “p***” after she tanned.
July 21: Paralympian Will Bayley, who has arthrogryposis, revealed he was encouraged to jump off the table during a dance routine, despite his fears. The stunt caused an injury that forced him to withdraw from the show.
July 22: MasterChef’s Gregg Wallace admits he burst into tears and developed a nasty facial rash during his time on Strictly 2014.
July 22: Despite ongoing issues, the Strictly Professional cast begins rehearsals for this year’s series.
July 23: Celebrity agent Melanie Blake claims she was sexually assaulted by an unnamed professional dancer while backstage at a show and claims she witnessed ageist behavior, rudeness and rough treatment to the point of injury.
July 23: Strictly is forced to beef up security after ‘an intruder climbed a rehearsal studio wall’.
July 23: BBC boss Tim Davie breaks his silence on the ongoing allegations against Strictly, saying he was ‘deeply sorry’, adding: “Hundreds of people, whether they were professionals, contestants or crew, took part in it and had a brilliant experience.
“At the same time, if someone thinks something is wrong or wants to talk about their experience, of course we want them to raise it with us. Don’t doubt that we will take it seriously, listen and deal with it as appropriate.”
July 24: Strictly 2023 star Krishnan Guru-Murthy gives an interview to Amanda Abbington on Channel 4 News, where she claims she was bullied, with some of the ‘humiliation being of a sexual nature’.
July 27: Laura Whitmore releases a statement regarding her Strictly experience, saying “I thought my experience was specific to me, but I’ve since realized I was wrong”.
She adds that she is not part of the official complaint, but she, along with others, went to meet Amanda with the BBC.
July 28: Laila Rouass speaks out against allegations regarding Anton Du Beke, saying she “never felt pressure” from him and that she “personally insisted on six to seven hours of training a day”.
August 10: Graziano breaks his silence on his Strictly axe, saying “these vile, false allegations have ruined my life.”
He also told about the “shocking” end of his friendship with Zara McDermott.
We also revealed that Amanda Abbington has also been auditioned for a second time as Strictly execs have hired 15 new staff to cover rehearsals.
August 11: Just when the investigation was expected to be over, Amanda made a dramatic intervention. Giovanni was on the verge of release until Amanda delivered more text messages.
August 24: Graziano Di Prima has called in top lawyers to sue the BBC and try to clear his name. He recruited Whitestone Chambers big hitters to fight his corner.
A source said: “They have also looked at his contract with the BBC and believe there are grounds for a claim.”
Meanwhile, the BBC has also delayed publication of the findings of the Giovanni Pernice investigation. The Sun revealed that the results of the three-month investigation are unlikely to be released in August.
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