Amanda Abbington opened up about her time on Strictly Come Dancing during an interview on Lorraine on Thursday.

Speaking to guest host Christine Lampard, the actress claimed she told producers that professional dancer Giovanni Pernice ‘hated’ her on day three.

Amanda quit the show in October last year citing ‘personal reasons’ before reports quickly surfaced that she had demanded footage of her rehearsals, claiming the show and Giovanni had left her with PTSD.

The Sherlock star also insisted she doesn’t want the BBC show to end despite her ‘toxic’ experience on it and hopes it carries on for many years to come.

Amanda has made a series of accusations about Pernice’s teaching methods and even claimed yesterday to have suffered bullying of a sexual nature.

Here are the top five bombshell claims made by the star during her candid interview.

1. She voiced concerns about Giovanni on day three

Amanda Abbington opened up about her time on Strictly Come Dancing during an interview on Lorraine on Thursday

Speaking to guest host Christine Lampard, the actress claimed she told producers that professional dancer Giovanni Pernice ‘hated’ her on day three

Amanda claimed during her interview on Lorraine that she had friction with Giovanni almost immediately after rehearsals began and she voiced concerns about him with producers on day three.

Asked when she first made it clear something was wrong, Amanda said: ‘Week one, third day. I’ve got texts to the producer on day three going, ‘this is awful, he hates me, I don’t know what I’m doing wrong. I’m trying my best.’ That was the first week.’

The Sherlock actress has previously described the rehearsal room with Giovanni as a ‘toxic’ envirornment.

She added: ‘I’ve been going into rehearsal rooms for 32 years. I know what rehearsal rooms are supposed to be like.

‘You have a duty of care to bring into that rehearsal room passion, sensitivity and kindess. That wasn’t extended to me and I said, I don’t think this is right.’

2. She doesn’t want Strictly Come Dancing to end

Amanda insisted she does not want Strictly Come Dancing to end despite the negative experience she had on the show

The star added she has always ‘loved’ the BBC series and had wanted to take aprt for a long time.

On what she feels should happen next, Amanda commented: ‘I love Strictly, I think this is just an anomaly, I love Strictly. I always wanted to do that show, and I think it’s such a beautiful British institution, and I think everybody loves it…

‘Most people on that show are wonderful, and I’ve made some good friends on that show, and I don’t want it to end.

‘I want it to have a beautiful, extended life, because it’s really, you know, it’s Saturday night entertainment. I don’t know what the answer is. I don’t, because, you know, it’s not up to me.’

3. She received an ‘onslaught’ of death threats

Amanda discussed the horrific nature of the abuse she has received from online trolls since it emerged she had lodged a complaint about her time on the show.

Discussing the reaction to her complaint, Amanda also told Christine: ‘I knew that raising and voicing my concerns, probably would mark me as public enemy number one, I realised that, but I didn’t expect the onslaught that I got – and the consistent, persistent amount of death threats and rape threats, not only to me, but to my children and members of my family – Jonathan included.

‘I’ve got screenshot after screenshot after screenshot, after screenshot… In the end, I couldn’t screenshot them all because it was starting to really affect my mental health because I was just thinking, ‘Everybody hates me and everybody wants me dead, and everybody wants me to die of cancer’…

She continued: ‘Hope you die of cancer’ – quite a few of those – and quite a few, ‘I’m sitting here laughing at the thought that your daughter gets raped right in front of you’ because of what you did to Giovanni.

‘I’m so sorry if that’s upset anybody watching, I’m so sorry but things like that were happening every day for eight months.’

Amanda admitted: ‘I go outside worrying because I had messages saying, ‘Watch your back because you’re going after Giovanni’ and I’m not. I just literally said, ‘I’m not sure this is appropriate behaviour, can we address it?’.

‘That’s all I did and the onslaught that I’ve had for eight months, relentless. I’m off social media now and I don’t really go out much, and when I do, I feel very vulnerable and very exposed.

‘I worry about my kids, you know, I do because, 16 and 18, they don’t need their mum to go through that. They’re amazing, my children.’

4. Amanda feels she has done ‘nothing wrong’

Amanda said: ‘I don’t know what’s going to happen but I know what happened in that room, and I know that I did nothing wrong, and I know that’

During the chat, Amanda told Christine: ‘I wasn’t expecting to have to do any of this. I was just expecting to go onto a reality dance show, have a nice time, and then leave with having a nice experience.’

Later saying: ‘I don’t know what’s going to happen but I know what happened in that room, and I know that I did nothing wrong, and I know that, I left that show with my head held high, knowing I’d done the best that I could do.’

Amanda felt she couldn’t ‘stay silent’ and wanted to speak out to help others who have experienced bullying.

She said: ‘I couldn’t stay silent on it because it would have been really weird. I don’t want people to be frightened of speaking out if they’re being bullied or if they feel they’re in a difficult situation, or if they feel that they’re not being heard and so, I was doing publicity for the play [and] people asked me about Strictly…

‘There are things I can’t talk about, obviously, and I’m honouring the complaint, I’m not speaking out of turn, I’m not saying anything specific that happened.’

5. She is getting married next year

During the interview, Amanda opened up on her upcoming marriage to fiance Jonathan Goodwin  (pictured in January 2023)

During the interview, Amanda opened up on her upcoming marriage to fiance Jonathan Goodwin.

She said: ‘Hopefully this won’t drag on till next year, hopefully, but next year we’re looking to get married, and we’re going to have a lovely, big weekend extravaganza with our friends and family.

‘He’s amazing, you know, everything that he’s been through, he still manages to be confident and funny. Everything about him is just an inspiration.

‘He’s my hero really, and he’s by my side all the time and is my number one fan – and I’m his. He’s a joy. I’m very lucky.’

The couple became engaged within days of meeting in 2021 after being friends on social media for a decade.

Whilst they were both in other relationships at the time, Amanda told The Guardian that they ‘admired each other’s work’ and ‘occasionally liked each other’s tweets.’

As they both became single, their messages became more and more flirtatious until they started dating in August 2021.

At the end of the interview, a statement on behalf Giovanni was read out where he denied Amanda’s claims.

It said: ‘We are cooperating fully with the BBC’s review process. All parties have been asked to respect this process and to not speak to the media before ot cincludes.

‘ 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 allegartions, given to ITV, in any shape or form. We would urge people to wait for the review’s conclusion and not to pay heed to very serious and defamatory allegations that have no evidence in support of them.

‘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.’

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Source: USA Today