Amanda Abbington calls in police after death threats

Amanda Abbington has been forced to call in the police after being hit with a number of death threats.

The 50-year-old 'Sherlock' actress has reportedly been the target of furious fans of former 'Strictly Come Dancing' professional Giovanni Pernice, who she has accused of bullying behaviour, and she has even deleted her Instagram account due to the nasty messages.

A source told The Sun newspaper: "Amanda has been left petrified and feeling very vulnerable in public.

“She has been worried about leaving the house to do simple errands like walking the dog or picking up groceries.

“At one point she was struggling to field the hundreds of messages from Giovanni supporters saying nasty things and threatening her safety.

“It was awful to cope with. The sheer volume was horrendous and the content was unspeakable and incredibly threatening. The police have taken the messages seriously.

"It has felt like a real public pile on and got very ugly with personal, offensive attacks.”

The BBC has launched an investigation into Giovanni, 33, following Amanda's complaints but he has denied all wrongdoing.

There is also no suggestion that Giovanni had any knowledge of the threats made against Amanda.

Amanda previously revealed she was diagnosed with mild PTSD following her 'Strictly' stint.

She told The Sun on Sunday: “I just want to thank everyone who has been so kind and lovely and supportive this past week. It means a great, great deal.

"I was diagnosed with mild PTSD after Strictly for several reasons and I told a few people about that, in the utmost confidence, among other things that were happening in my life at the time both professionally and personally.

“I’m very sorry that people felt the need to send me death threats, threaten my children and bring up my past, healthy relationship with an ex-partner as an ­indicator of my current mental health. I wish those people well.”