by Strictly Come Dancing professional Giovanni Pernice has broken his silence about Amanda Abbington’s allegations against him, saying he did not feel safe dancing with her.
The 34-year-old was accused by his dance partner of inappropriate sexual behavior and bullying during their Strictly 2023 rehearsals.
Speaking about the claims for the first time since being cleared by a BBC investigation, Pernice said he was so afraid Abbington would lie about their time in the studio that he began secretly filming the sessions.
“I started recording myself on my phone,” he told the Daily Mail. “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.
“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 other people on the WhatsApp group. She was telling two different versions of the story.”
The actress claimed that Pernice’s behavior in the rehearsal room was “inappropriate, mean, nasty and bullying”, and the BBC upheld six of her 17 complaints after a six-month investigation.
He was cleared of intimidating or aggressive behavior but was found to have used “disruptive” language and given negative feedback.
Pernice claimed that Abbington began telling conflicting stories about his training sessions in the first week of the show. He said another celebrity contestant told him she sent messages to others saying she was unhappy, thanking Pernice for being an “incredible teacher”.
“I still am [Amanda’s] messages,” he said. “They say ‘thank you so much for your patience today, you’re an incredible teacher’ so I thought that was great.
“Then one of the celebrities came up to me and said ‘you haven’t had a great week, have you?’ I was like, ‘what are you talking about?’ But Amanda had told them she’d had a terrible week – and that was the first week, before the show even started.”
He added that the pair were soon taken to see the show’s producers, who were shocked by the profanity the dance partners were using towards each other.
According to Pernice, Abbington quickly insisted that everything was fine between them and told the bosses that she “started it”.
He said: “Amanda was laughing, we were laughing at each other. She would say very bad things like the c-word. She would use it.”
“She’s the one who would start the joke. She would tell a dark joke. That was the joke we had from the beginning, a very polite joke,” he said.
Speaking about his request to have “chaperones and cameras” in the rehearsal room early in the process, Pernice said the BBC “sent someone with a camera and people to watch”.
Producers then informed Abbington that they would be filming the duo training.
He told the Daily Mail: “I knew I had to take some action… I just didn’t know when [she] it was going to stop.”
Abbington alleged that Pernice bullied her so badly that she was left with “post-traumatic stress disorder” after she left the show for medical reasons.
However, he has maintained his innocence throughout, previously saying: “I look forward to completing the investigation and finally clearing my name and establishing the truth.”
He admitted that he was “frustrated” at times while training with her, but said that was because he was interested in his craft.
After the BBC report was released, the dancer revealed that he had been reduced to tears several times during the saga and felt depressed.
“I called my parents crying,” he said. “They are the closest people to me. They were asked if their son was a bully.
“Everyone got upset, that upset me. There were so many tears of frustration and sadness.
“I decided from day one to respect the process. Even my own parents asked: ‘How did you do that?’.”
The months-long ordeal put his nine-year career as a professional Strictly dancer in jeopardy and meant he could not take part in this year’s 20th anniversary series.
However, he praised the show’s judges and presenters for their continued support.
“Anton [Du Beke] my best friend,” Pernice said. “As you can imagine, at this time in my life, you find out who your real friends are.
“But all the judges and presenters stayed with me. all of them.”
He added: “Of course, I was worried that it might ruin my career. The people who come to my shows are children and women. I was painted as someone I am not. It seemed like my only point was to destroy me.”
Pernice explained that one of the worst moments was watching Abbington’s interview with Channel 4’s Krishnan Guru-Murthy, who was also a member of the series’ celebrity cast last year.
When the interview aired, he said he “wanted to hit the TV”, adding: “I didn’t watch it, I couldn’t watch the interview because I was thinking ‘why would you talk on live tv when we have both? you were asked not to talk about it?’
“My Sicilian blood would rise and I would think ‘this is not the truth’ – but I had to remain silent.”
The professional dancer said he is now ready to face the ordeal with the BBC, explaining that he wants to “hear what they have to say to me”.
“I’m glad they got the result they got, but there are some points I want to talk to them about,” he said.
Meanwhile, Pernice is continuing to take part in the Italian version of Strictly Come Dancing – Ballando con le Stelle – with her partner Bianca Guaccero, an actress and TV host.
He ruled out appearing on next year’s UK series, but said: “It’s too far away. Right now I’m focused on Bianca.
