AMANDA Abbington revealed her Strictly nightmare with Giovanni Pernice got so bad that she was actually relieved when a cancer scare meant she could leave the show.
The BBC apologized to the actress last week following a five-month investigation into allegations of bullying in the latest series.
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Amanda Abbington revealed her nightmare with Giovanni Pernice Credit: Louis Wood
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Amanda, pictured with Gia, says it got so bad she was actually relieved when a cancer scare meant she could leave the showCredit: PA
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The BBC apologized to the actress last week following a five-month investigation into allegations of bullying in the latest seriesCredit: PA
Today, Amanda reveals her stay was “morbid and toxic” and how:
- GIOVANNI called her a “vegetable” at training – a few days after meeting her fiancé, a wheelchair user;
- The DANCER also told her: “You are a 52-year-old woman in menopause” and “I would eat you”;
- HE said that he himself wanted pleasure when she danced well; and
- HER ex Martin Freeman wanted to kill Gio because of his behavior.
Amanda, 50, left the BBC1 show in week six last October, citing personal and medical reasons.
Today she reveals that she found two lumps in her right breast.
She said: “Last week, on Thursday morning, I was in the shower and I found two lumps. Everything was clear to me after a mammogram a few months ago.
“I went to rehearsals to do the cha-cha-cha and I just couldn’t concentrate. Giovanni said: ‘There’s no point in teaching you that because it doesn’t go inside. You can’t understand it. We’ll be happy if we pass because you’re useless’.
“He refused to even look at me, so I went to the toilet, came back and said: ‘I’m going to the hospital now because I found two lumps in my breast this morning.’
“He was great then. He said, ‘Well, let me know how it goes’.
“It was the catalyst I was kind of waiting for, which is horrible.
“But that’s what I thought, that it was a healthier option than being in that room.
Amanda Abbington revealed Giovanni Pernice’s shocking sexual gesture to her during rehearsals as she spoke to a BBC investigation
“I was supporting breast cancer charities, but there was a part of me that was like, ‘Okay, now I have to deal with this instead. Phew.”
To her relief, the lumps later turned out to be benign.
Amanda said the couple’s rehearsals got awkward “pretty quickly”.
She added about Giovanni, 34: “It got to the point where he calls me names, says I’m stupid and lazy, that I dance like a vegetable.”
“It was an attack when you were told you weren’t good enough.”
Her escapist fiance Jonathan Goodwin, 44, needs a wheelchair after a stunt gone wrong on America’s Got Talent 2021.
He’d say, ‘I’ve got the keys to an af***ing Ferrari, but I’ve got an old car in front of me that I can’t get into’
Amanda Abbingdon
She added: “The comment about vegetables was painful. Think: ‘Do you know how offensive that word is?’. Giovanni met Jonathan and knew he used a wheelchair.”
In a BBC investigation, Giovanni admitted the “vegetable” and “lazy” comments but said they were about Amanda’s posture, so it was not considered bullying.
Cameras were installed in the rehearsal room in Barnet, north London, after Amanda raised concerns on the third day of training.
She said: “The anxiety level was pretty constant. If I took a wrong step, the consequences would be huge — eye rolling, twitching, looking at me like, ‘Why are you even here?’
“He’d say, ‘I’ve got the keys to an af***ing Ferrari, but I’ve got an old car in front of me that I can’t get into’. I worked so hard to make it work and that’s what upset me so much.
“He had the ability to be nice, but he chose to be misogynistic, cruel and violent. And the BBC clearly knew this.”
The BBC report confirmed that Giovanni’s language and his tone were “disparaging, belittling and insulting” in a way that was disproportionate and undeserved.
It was concluded to be a breach of the BBC’s code of conduct, although the allegations about the Ferrari and the old banger were not mentioned in the report.
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Amanda said that if Giovanni was happy with her dancing, he would make lewd comments Credit: Louis Wood
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Amanda said: ‘I was constantly crying and shaking, feeling anxious, tingly and panicked. Even driving past the rehearsal room is difficult’Credit: Pixel8000
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Amanda said: ‘He actually said: ‘You’re a 51-year-old menopausal woman but I’d still fuck you’. He denies it’Credit: PA
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She said: ‘There is clearly such a culture at the BBC. Certainly, he was allowed to get away with this behaviour’Credit: BBC
Amanda said that Giovanni would make rude comments when he was happy with her dancing.
She added: “He actually said, ‘You’re a 51-year-old menopausal woman, but I’d still fuck you’. He denies it.
“However, his evidence was not accepted and a judgment was passed against him for inappropriate comments of a sexual nature.
“When Giovanni left, they would say, ‘I’m so sorry you have to go through this.’
He would say, ‘You gave me an erection, look at my erection. I really want to fuck you now that you’ve taken that step well’
Amanda Abbingdon
“This is what I find shocking.
“There is clearly that culture at the BBC.
“Certainly, he was allowed to get away with that behavior.”
The BBC report upheld Amanda’s complaint about his “menopausal women” remark as inappropriate comments of a sexual nature, although it reported that he referred to her as a 52-year-old.
Amanda said she was alerted to Giovanni as soon as it was revealed they were paired.
She said: “I’ve had a dozen messages from people saying, ‘I’m so sorry he’s your partner’.
“These were the people who worked on the series. Two or three were his former dance partners.”
Following her complaint about Giovanni’s behaviour, Amanda had the support of her ex Martin Freeman, the father of their two children, and revealed that the actor “wanted to kill” the Italian dancer.
The language he used was explicit, he would say that people would fuck if they danced well
Amanda Abbingdon
She said: “Martin said: ‘I’m so sorry you have to go through this.
“This is terrible. You don’t deserve it. I want to kill him’.
“Martin said to me, ‘It’s so unfair, Amanda, because you’d always say, ‘I want to be on that show.’ You were so good at it’.”
Amanda also remembered how Giovanni would grab his cock when she danced well.
She said: “He would say, ‘You gave me an erection, look at my erection.
“I really want to fuck you now that you’ve taken that step well.”
“I should not have been put in such a situation.
“The report suggested that I agreed with it. That it was a prank.
“This is categorically untrue.
“I managed that behavior because I didn’t know what else to do in that room.
“I didn’t invite it in any way or enjoy it in any way.
“I thought it was grossly inappropriate.
It is clear that there is such a culture at the BBC. Certainly, he was allowed to get away with such behavior
Amanda Abbingdon
“Strictly’s top boss, Sarah James, agreed. However, this was deleted from the report. Why?”
The BBC confirmed that Giovanni pointed or gestured to his groin, but made no inference about the erection comment.
Giovanni is understood to have denied any remark about an erection or the existence of one and pointed to it.
The query was accepted, he said: “I just want to fuck you” and “look what you did to me”.
This was found to be inappropriate behavior.
Amanda said: “The language he used was explicit, he would say he would fuck off if people danced well.
“He definitely told me that in the room.
“I’m angry and I regret that I didn’t go out.
“At that time, I didn’t mention sexual things to the producers because I was very shocked.
“It was so shocking to me.
“When I had to tell it to the appeals committee, I couldn’t stop crying.”
The report said the witness recalled one moment when Giovanni repeatedly said her dancing made him want to “w***” or “pleasure myself.”
But the person did not escalate the matter because they were worried that it might affect their career.
The witness said that this was before rehearsals were recorded or detailed diaries were kept.
Sherlock star Amanda is clear that none of the sexual comments were a joke – as Giovanni’s reps have suggested.
She said: “I was in disbelief.
“It just doesn’t seem safe or healthy.”
At work in a professional environment, Giovanni would inevitably be fired for gross misconduct
Will Burrows
When publishing the investigation report, the BBC apologized to Amanda, saying: “We want to thank her for coming forward.
“We know this would not be easy to do.”
They said they were taking allegations of bullying and harassment seriously and that the investigation was taking time due to its “complex nature”.
But last night Will Burrows — an employment lawyer with B Square Law — said: “In a workplace in a professional environment, Giovanni would inevitably be dismissed for gross misconduct.
“It’s up to the BBC to determine what environment they want to set.”
Amanda revealed how she was dying to learn to dance on Strictly but was diagnosed with PTSD.
She said: “I loved watching Strictly. Even before that, I was so excited.
“Everyone else on the show was wonderful.
“But 80 percent of the time it was morbid, horrible, and toxic.
“I was constantly crying and shaking and feeling anxious and tingly and panicked. Even driving past the rehearsal room is difficult.
“It was a very unfortunate period in my life that should have been fun.”
Amanda has heard from people on this year’s show that conditions have improved, with followers following celebrities – but she says that won’t ruin the potential for romance.
Amanda added: “Two single people can go out for a drink.
“The followers are also not going.
“But in a room that gets really hot, it’s good to have a neutral person to calm it down and make sure people are safe, happy and healthy.”
A spokeswoman for Giovanni said: “The BBC completed its review almost a week ago.
“Giovanni focuses on his work at Ballando con le Stella and supports his partner Bianca.
“It is hoped that Mrs Abbington will soon be able to accept the findings of the review and look to the future.”
A BBC spokesman said: “At the time, although the production team took steps to address the issues as they understood them, in the end it was not enough.
“That’s why the measures we’ve taken to further strengthen our existing protocols are so important.”
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The BBC report confirmed that Giovanni’s language and tone were ‘disparaging, belittling and insulting’ in a way that was disproportionate and undeserved Credit: Doug Seeburg/News Group Newspapers Ltd
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Amanda talks about her time on Strictly Come Dancing with Hannah HopeCredit: Louis Wood
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