BBC apologises to Amanda Abbington over Strictly verbal bullying by Giovanni Pernice, but he is cleared of physical aggression
The BBC has apologised to Amanda Abbington and upheld some of her complaints against her 2023 Strictly dance partner Giovanni Pernice, but cleared him of the most serious allegations.
BBC News understands that while complaints of verbal bullying and harassment were upheld, claims of physical aggression were not.
The Sherlock actress had accused Pernice of being “unnecessary, abusive, cruel and mean” during their rehearsals.
He previously strongly denied “any suggestion of abusive or threatening behaviour”.
BBC News has approached Abbington and Pernice for a comment.
In a statement released on Monday, the BBC said it takes allegations of bullying and harassment “very seriously” and said the review into Abbington’s complaints had taken time “due to its complex nature” and in order to ensure “a rigorous and robust process”.
“We have assessed the complaints and we have upheld some, but not all, of the complaints made,” it 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.”
In recent media interviews, Abbington has said she first raised concerns about Pernice’s behaviour with Strictly producers on her third day, and had “many” more discussions with programme bosses.
She eventually dropped out in week six, expressing her “deepest regret” at having to leave the show for “medical” and “personal reasons”. She later lodged a formal complaint about Pernice.
The actress has since claimed the BBC had known about his behaviour for years. She has also said she and her family had received death threats after she spoke out.
Charlotte Moore, chief content officer for the BBC, told BBC News that it was “terrible” Abbington had been subjected to online abuse, and personally apologised to the actress twice.
In its statement, the BBC said that the production team did take steps to address the issues at the time.
But it acknowledged that “ultimately, these were not enough”.
“This is why the measures we have taken to further strengthen our existing protocols are so important,” it said.
Those measures, which were announced in July, include introducing chaperones in all rehearsal rooms, as well as including two new welfare producers on the show
Earlier this year, the BBC confirmed that Pernice would not return to the Strictly professional line-up for the new series.
The same month, he hit out at “totally untrue stories about me in the media”.
He added: “I am looking forward to the conclusion of the investigation and ultimately clearing my name and establishing the truth.”
He has now joined his native Italy’s talent dance show, Ballando con le Stelle.
The new series of Strictly Come Dancing launched on BBC One earlier this month.
#BBC #apologises #Amanda #Abbington #Strictly #verbal #bullying #Giovanni #Pernice #cleared #physical #aggression