Giovanni Pernice and Amanda Abbington both claimed victory following a probe into the Strictly Come Dancing bullying claims.
The allegations made by the actress against pro dancer Giovanni are now public knowledge and have shown there are no real winners in the situation. The BBC has now apologised to Amanda after it “upheld some, but not all” of her complaints following the 50-year-old’s time on the reality show. Six out of the 17 allegations were upheld.
The Mirror has now revealed that while Italian Giovanni’s camp insisted those six had been “trivial”, Amanda disagreed. She believes they proved her decision to speak out was the right thing to do. Among the upheld complaints were claims of “isolated incidents where Giovanni swore or threw his hands in the air”.
The probe showed “he was swearing and using what could be described as belittling language.” This amounted to bullying behaviour, it added. Another complaint upheld was that Giovanni, 34, was using “too much negative feedback”.
One told how he grabbed his crotch and uttered a lewd remark, and also told his dance partner that he “wanted to f*** her”. But a source close to Giovanni claimed: “This was all done in jest and perceived in this way by Amanda. They were intended as jokes and compliments of her dancing style. Her language could be just as course back.”
He was cleared of threatening, abusive and physical behaviour. A source close to Amanda said: “Any findings of workplace misconduct by an internal investigation is pretty extraordinary. It really says something, and was deemed serious enough to apologise. It also shows up his teaching methods which he has so publicly said was beyond criticism. Giovanni certainly hasn’t been cleared as he would like to portray.”
The source noted that Amanda’s version of events was backed by other people, adding: “This is corroborated by a number of different people, ex-contestants, dancers, choreographers. It is not an insignificant number of people who have supported her. She is relieved as many thought it would be a massive fudge. A lot of people thought it shouldn’t be an internal investigation at all but given to an external body to consider.”
Giovanni quit the show amid the accusations against him. But BBC insiders last night refused to reveal if the findings would have been enough to axe him at the time. Amanda’s source insisted: “He breached their policies so you have to ask how they would have kept him on.”
The BBC said: “We want to apologise to Amanda Abbington and to thank her for coming forward and taking part. We know this would not have been an easy thing to do. At the time, although the production team took steps to address the issues as they understood them, ultimately these were not enough. This is why the measures we have taken to further strengthen our existing protocols are so important.”
Giovanni last night told how being accused of bullying “wasn’t the nicest time of my life” and he was “relieved” at the review.
He said: “Today I’m happy because, you know, at the beginning there were very, very serious allegations thrown out at. But none of those allegations have been upheld. The threatening, abusive, harassment behaviour allegations have not been upheld.”
Giovanni has now got a new job on Dancing With The Stars in Italy with partner Bianca Guaccero.
Amanda told how in the year since she made the complaints she has been accused of accused of “being a liar, a troublemaker and of being ‘mad and unstable’”. She added: “I’ve also received rape and murder threats. My family and children have been subjected to threats and intimidation.
“Despite this vile abuse, I’ve never regretted coming forward, and today’s apology from the BBC is a vindication of my complaint. It’s also a vindication for the others who have contacted me to express concerns about their own experiences on Strictly.
“I hope those who have felt unable to speak out will now be more confident that they will be believed. The BBC has invited me to meet with senior management and this is something I will now be considering. This apology means a great deal to me. So too does the fact that the BBC have acknowledged the steps that were put in place to support and protect me and past contestants were “not enough”.
“What matters most is that lessons have been learned and the BBC makes the promised changes, to ensure others don’t experience the same ordeal.”
Strictly returned on September 14 for its 20th anniversary show. Chaperones are now present during rehearsals.
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