Amanda Abbington has claimed she was diagnosed with mild PTSD after her time on Strictly and sent a text to a BBC producer on day three, saying she thought Giovanni Pernice “hates” her.
Amanda Abbington, who participated in the 2023 series of Strictly Come Dancing, has opened up about her experience on the show.
She revealed that she sent a text to a BBC producer on the third day of her participation, expressing her belief that her dance partner Giovanni Pernice “hates” her.
The 50 year old actress appeared live on Lorraine on Thursday 25 July to discuss her time on the BBC dance competition.
This came just hours after she sat down for an interview with Channel 4 News and fellow Strictly competitor Krishnan Guru-Murthy.
Amanda’s journey on Strictly last year was cut short as she left early. She later disclosed that she had been diagnosed with mild PTSD, prompting the BBC to launch an investigation. Her dance partner, Giovanni Pernice, exited the show earlier this year amidst the ongoing scandal.
During her chat with Christine Lampard on ITV’s Lorraine, Amanda shared when things began to take a turn for her, reports the Mirror. She confessed: “Week one. Third day. I’ve got texts to producer on day three going, this is awful, he hates me, I don’t know what I’m doing wrong.”
Giovanni has vehemently denied Amanda’s allegations of “unnecessary, abusive, cruel and mean” behaviour. In her Channel 4 interview on Wednesday 24 July, Amanda made several shocking claims. She described the experience as “brutal, relentless and unforgiving,” before clarifying that she was referring to the “rape threats towards not only myself, but my daughter and the threats of death to my son.”
The actress opened up about the negative experiences she faced, stating: “I know it happened because it happened to me. I am not a sensational person… I’m not hysterical. I don’t make things out to be bigger than they are. I know what happened to me in that room wasn’t acceptable. I complained about it and sort of have not been taken seriously.”
She continued to advocate for a supportive environment, saying: “We have to cultivate a society and an environment where women can come forward and say, ‘yeah’… or men because it happens to men as well, ‘I’m finding this uncomfortable. Can you do something about it?’ And then something be done about it? That’s all. And I think, we need to be brave and I want to stand up for any woman, any woman who feels that they don’t have a voice or be there for her championing her and say, ‘Yeah, I’ve got you.’”
In response to the allegations, Giovanni Pernice’s spokesperson said: “We would urge people to wait for the review’s conclusion and not to pay heed to these very serious and defamatory allegations that have no evidence in support of them.”
Following the broadcast of Amanda’s interview with Channel 4 News, the BBC issued a statement asserting: “Anyone involved in a complaint has a right to confidentiality and fair process and therefore it would be inappropriate to comment further on individuals. However, when issues are raised with us we always take them extremely seriously and have appropriate processes in place to manage this. As we have said before, we would urge people not to indulge in speculation.”
“More generally, the BBC and BBC Studios takes duty of care extremely seriously. Our processes on Strictly Come Dancing are updated every year, they are kept under constant review and last week we announced additional steps to further strengthen welfare and support on the show.”
On Tuesday, BBC director-general Tim Davie expressed his apologies to contestants who have had less than positive experiences on the show, but promised that the show would continue. While presenting the BBC’s annual report, Mr Davie explained to journalists that while competitiveness, hard work and ambition are expected on the show, there are boundaries that should never be crossed. He stated: “We will never tolerate unacceptable behaviour of any kind.”
When asked if he is confident the show will proceed this series, he responded: “I need to be assured we have the right safeguarding and duty of care in place, and that is the first question I ask. I am assured by the robust actions we have taken in terms of the changes we have made… that we are in a position to deliver a very good season this year and that has been my focus.”
The BBC also announced plans to implement measures to “strengthen welfare and support” on the show, including having a chaperone present “at all times” during training room rehearsals.
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Source: Tampa Bay Times
