Strictly Come Dancing’s Giovanni Pernice has spilled the beans on how he and Amanda Abbington ended up as dance partners on the show.
The Italian dancer revealed that during the “speed dating” phase of the show, where celebrities get a quick spin around the floor with each professional, he was so impressed with Amanda’s moves that he requested to be paired with her.
He also claimed that Amanda had asked for him too, leading the show’s bosses to pair them together for last year’s series, the Mirror reports.
However, things took a sour turn in the second week of training when another celebrity contestant allegedly informed Giovanni that Amanda had been expressing dissatisfaction with their training in the group WhatsApp chat.
Despite receiving messages from Amanda thanking him for his patience and praising his teaching skills, Giovanni was taken aback when a fellow celebrity told him about Amanda’s complaints. The Palermo-born dancer was left puzzled and concerned, especially since this was all happening in the first week, before the show had even begun.
Amanda, who is well-known for her role in Mr Selfridge, abruptly left the show on October 23, 2023. Speaking to Mail Online, Giovanni expressed his fear that Amanda might spread false information about their time in the studios, which led him to take the precautionary step of filming their sessions, initially without her knowledge.
Giovanni has opened up about a tense situation: “That was the first time I knew that I had to take some action – so I asked for chaperones and cameras in the room. I started to record myself on my phone.
“Obviously we were dancing and I wanted to see the video back but at the same time, I did it to protect myself. I told the production team I was doing it because I didn’t feel comfortable in the room, I didn’t feel safe.”
He revealed concerns of mixed messages being communicated: “At that point, I didn’t think she was going to accuse me of anything – but she was saying one thing to me and something else to others on the WhatsApp group. She was telling two different versions of the story. They told me not to [film rehearsals] anymore but that they were going to do it instead.”
Amanda later claimed she was the one who requested recorded rehearsals. Giovanni admits he’s intense in his training approach, and he once believed the pair could reach the show’s final.
His surprise was palpable when in October – Week Six – he was informed by the production team that Amanda had suddenly left the competition, leaving him “gutted”. He suspects Amanda has been seeking public sympathy through the media since departing the show almost a year earlier.
Get the latest celebrity gossip and telly news sent straight to your inbox. Sign up to our daily Showbiz newsletter here.