Giovanni Pernice has broken his silence on the Strictly Come Dancing controversy involving actress Amanda Abbington, who accused him of “bullying” her during rehearsals.
The Italian dance pro voiced his side of the story for the first time, aiming to “set the record straight” in a tell all chat with Christine Lampard, who was filling in on ITV’s Lorraine.
Appearing determined on the show, Giovanni didn’t shy away from speaking his mind. While he conceded that his training style might have been “strict”, he stood firm on the fact that: “Me and Amanda never had an argument.” Giovanni seemed perplexed by some of the complaints filed with the BBC, firmly refuting any suggestions of being “aggressive” to Amanda.
Admitting to occasional “frustration”, Giovanni explained to Christine that it stemmed from Amanda’s “brilliant” talent as a dancer whom he simply wished to see reach her “full potential”, reports the Mirror.
Following an internal review by the BBC, verbal bullying and harassment allegations were substantiated, though physical aggression was not. Amanda, known for her role in Sherlock, dismissed the BBC’s apology, criticising the investigation outcome as mere “vindication” of her grievance, and expressed hope it would embolden others to come forward with confidence about their experiences.
Giovanni has shared his sense of relief after being cleared of allegations made by Amanda that he was “threatening and abusive” at times, which were proven unfounded.
In a conversation with Christine, Giovanni addressed the claims: “First of all the investigation didn’t find me to be a bully and that’s exactly why I feel relieved now and it’s important to put that straight because ‘bully’ is a big word.”
Reflecting on their partnership on Strictly, he remarked: “At that time, and as I said before, everything was great. All I had was ‘Giovanni you’re an amazing teacher’ and ‘Giovanni you’re great’ and then Amanda said she left because of ‘health conditions’.”
He also pondered over what might have led to the breakdown in their relationship, mentioning the last “message” he sent to Amanda before the issue escalated into a formal complaint and media scandal.
Giovanni recounted the final communication with Amanda: “And the last message I had with Amanda was ‘please let me know how this goes, I want to help you. So the last message I sent to her was ‘I will fund for you a doctor, please let’s sort this out because it is more important than any steps.’ This was the last message and last conversation with Amanda.”
Lorraine airs weekdays on ITV1, from 9am.