The BBC‘s internal inquiry into Amanda Abbington‘s claims that she was bullied by Strictly star dancer Giovanni Pernice during rehearsals is tipped to deliver its verdict this week – perhaps as early as tomorrow.
When a large organisation launches such a probe, the complainants are normally expected to offer evidence in confidence, then remain silent until a verdict is reached.
I know the drill because I was once the managing editor of a big newspaper publishing group, where I oversaw such internal inquiries.
BBC bosses are ‘furious’ Ms Abbington is encouraging other former contestants with historic grievances to speak out in her support
And yet, Abbington has not once but twice given extensive interviews to the national Press about an experience that, she claims, left her with a ‘bruised foot’ and ‘post traumatic stress disorder’ – the first to the Sunday Times two weekends ago and the second to the Sun on Sunday last weekend.
The Sunday Times’s headline read: ‘Strictly was tough, but the aftermath is just brutal’. Abbington recalled the trolling she’s suffered, saying: ‘It just hasn’t stopped.’
Naturally, she also promoted her new stage show – ironically named When It Happens To You – which is playing at the little-known Park Theatre in north London rather than the West End.
The play is about ‘not letting a terrible event define the rest of your life,’ she said. Hardly advice that she has taken to heart.
Next, we had her ‘exclusive’ interview with the Sun on Sunday plastered across two pages inside and splashed on the front page: ‘Gio ‘a shocker’, Strictly’s Amanda Abbington breaks silence about ‘cruel, abusive and mean’ Giovanni Pernice.‘
Such pre-planned self-promotion ahead of the BBC’s verdict is not just surprising but, to say the least, unprofessional and blatantly self-serving.
Abbington is also planning to go on ITV’s Lorraine on Thursday – though she will be interviewed by Christine Lampard, who is covering for Lorraine Kelly this week – an appearance that will allow her to put across her side of the story to the show’s 1.2 million mostly female viewers.
It’s a shrewd move as it could be the day after the BBC releases its report and, if the verdict goes in favour of Gio rather than Amanda, it will enable her to engage in some damage limitation.
The actress has promoted her new stage show – ironically named When It Happens To You
Ms Abbington has not once but twice given extensive interviews with national newspapers maybe spurred on by the fear of losing her Gio battle
As the Mail’s Katie Hind revealed on Monday, BBC bosses are ‘furious’ at the actress, who is encouraging other former contestants with historic grievances to speak out in her support.
‘Amanda seems to be stopping at nothing to make sure a dark cloud is left over Strictly,’ Katie was told.
Maybe Abbington is spurred on by the fear of losing her battle with Gio. As one BBC insider said: ‘It’s not looking like there is a smoking gun in her complaint against Giovanni.’
Others are hinting he will be completely cleared of any wrongdoing.
‘Amanda clearly feels very hard done by in all of this and is getting ahead of things in case the ruling doesn’t go the way she wants.’
Just maybe she’s trying to get her retaliation in first by speaking out so publicly before the BBC’s inquiry concludes, portraying herself as the victim.
All of which leaves me dumbfounded. If Amanda is so convinced of her case, why is she breaching all normal protocols to parade her victimhood to any media outlet prepared to give her the time of day?
That’s certainly the message she has put across in her interviews. Poor Amanda, brutal Gio. Hasn’t she already given all that evidence to the inquiry?
Ms Abbington claims she was bullied by Strictly star dancer Giovanni Pernice during rehearsals
What worries me most about the Strictly debacle is that the show has been portrayed by Abbington as some kind of bearpit where hapless women are subjected to male bullying. A battle of the sexes from which Abbington has emerged as a hardened warrior.
That’s all very well but, like Amanda herself after 30 years in showbusiness, the Strictly celebrities tend to be seasoned veterans of stage and screen, not ingenues unaccustomed to the pressures of the rehearsal room.
It is also telling that Pernice, having denied all accusations against him, says he asked for his rehearsals with Abbington to be filmed as he was ‘worried’ about her ability to cope with the demands of what is undoubtedly a physically and emotionally challenging show.
Unlike programmes like Love Island and I’m A Celebrity, where the contestants’ physical and mental suitability to take part is thoroughly assessed before they are signed up, Strictly had no such screening system in place.
BBC insiders say such a system will be in place for the next series, a celebration of Strictly’s 20th anniversary, along with rehearsal ‘chaperones’ and mental health support workers.
Ms Abbington was married to Office star Martin Freeman until their split in 2016, and they have two children Joe and Grace, 15
Ms Abbington is engaged to daredevil stuntman Jonathan Goodwin following a whirlwind romance. Pictured on the Lorraine show in 2022
All of which comes too late for Amanda Abbington. Did the BBC fail in its duty of care by not even bothering to listen to the candid interview she gave to the Full Disclosure podcast in March last year before she joined Strictly the following September?
The 50-year-old Abbington revealed that she had ‘considered suicide’ after her separation from her husband of 16 years, Sherlock star Martin Freeman, 52. And while he formed a relationship with a French actress called Rachel Martin, 30 – 20 years younger than Abbington – she was left ‘hating herself’.
She also revealed in the podcast that, after a row with her then 15-year-old daughter Grace who was late for school, she had feelings of ‘rage, anxiety’ and ‘as I sat there, as I was driving, in my head – and I haven’t said this since starting therapy six years ago – ‘You could always kill yourself’.’
She added: ‘That was what my mantra used to be. If you let people down and upset somebody, or if you’re not being the best you can… you can always kill yourself.’
Before joining Strictly, Abbington also posted that her beloved father had been ‘really ill’ and was admitted to hospital. ‘So there’s been a lot of anxiety and I am quite an anxious person.’
If I could find Abbington’s ‘suicidal’ podcast interview via a simple Google search in a matter of minutes, surely the BBC’s Strictly team could have done the same.
And worse was to come for Amanda. Two months after finding love again, with daredevil stuntman Jonathan Goodwin, 43, he was paralysed from the waist down after falling 30ft when a stunt went wrong, leaving him permanently confined to a wheelchair.
That’s a hell of a lot of trauma for one woman to cope with, let alone one facing the inevitable stresses of competing on Strictly.
Which leads us to the question asked by one BBC insider as the verdict on the Amanda v Gio trial looms ever closer: ‘Why is Amanda Abbington hell-bent on killing off Strictly?’
Maybe it’s because, if you can’t love yourself, how can you be expected to love a show that coincided with so much trauma?
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Source: Los Angeles Times (edited)
