Amanda Abbington 'feels vindicated' after BBC apologise to her for her experience on Strictly

Amanda Abbington has "never regretted" making a formal complaint against Giovanni Pernice.

The 50-year-old actress made a shock exit from 'Strictly Come Dancing just weeks into the competition in 2023 and later accused her professional partner of subjecting her to "vile abuse" during rehearsals but has now broken her silence after the broadcaster issued her with a formal apology as she opened up about the "threats" she has received from members of the public during the tumultuous time.

In a statement released on Monday (30.09.24), she said: "My decision to come forward and complain about Giovanni Pernice's conduct towards me was not an easy thing to do.

"In the days, weeks and months since I contacted the BBC, I've been accused of being a liar, a troublemaker and of being mad and unstable.

"I've also received rape and murder threats and a bomb threat was sent to my place of work. My family and children have also 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 not just a vindication for me, it's a vindication for the other people who have contacted me since I made my complaint to express concerns about their own experiences on Strictly Come Dancing."

The former 'Sherlock' star - who has Joe, 18, and Grace, 16, with former partner Martin Freeman - will now be considering whether to meet with senior management at the BBC and hopes that her actions will let others be more "confident" if they feel they need to speak out in the future.

She added: "I hope those who have felt unable to speak out now will be more confident that they will be listened to and believed."

Giovanni has always denied the claims made against him, and a representative for the TV star claimed that he is "pleased" that he has been cleared of most of the accusations as he continues to star on the Italian version of 'Strictly'.

The rep said: "We are pleased that this six-month review has not found any evidence of threatening or abusive behaviour by Giovanni.

"Giovanni is relieved that the overwhelming majority of allegations out to the BBC have not been upheld and looks forward to continuing his work on 'Dancing With The Stars' in Italy this season"

Just hours earlier, the broadcaster said that it has taken the claims "very seriously", although just six of the 17 allegations made against the professional dancer have actually been upheld.

In a statement, the BBC said: "We have assessed the complaints and we have upheld some, but not all, of the complaints made.

"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."

The report found that some of the language used by Giovanni towards Amanda could be "belittling" and agreed with the 'Mr. Selfridge' actress that his feedback was, at times, "overly negative"and that he had used profanity during rehearsals.

The report noted after reviewing several hours of rehearsal footage as part of an official investigation that there were two moments of "inappropriate behaviour of sexual banter in the workplace", which were found to simply have been "made and received as jokes" between the pair.

Amanda's complaint that he sent her a video on WhatsApp which she deemed to be inappropriate was also not upheld."