Strictly’s Giovanni Pernice has broken his silence after his former dance partner Amanda Abbington is said to have claimed the show left her with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder.
The Italian professional dancer, 33, took to Instagram on Sunday after Amanda, who left the show in week five, reportedly demanded recordings of their rehearsals to review.
The actress, 51, is said to have sought legal advice over the dancer’s alleged behaviour towards her and believes video footage could ‘back up’ her claims.
Giovanni broke his social media silence on Sunday evening for the first time since the reports surfaced.
The dancer reshared a photo of himself teaching 250 students the Cha Cha Cha, Quickstep, Paso Doble and Argentine Tango.
Strictly’s Giovanni Pernice has broken his silence after his former dance partner Amanda Abbington’s claims the show left her with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder
Giovanni broke his social media silence on Sunday evening for the first time since the reports surfaced. The dancer reshared a photo of himself teaching 250 students how to dance
The Italian professional dancer, 33, took to Instagram on Sunday after Amanda, who left the show in week five, reportedly demanded recordings of their rehearsals to review
He wrote: ‘250 people!! This is how we spend our Sunday! Love you all’.
The class beamed for the camera after spending the day learning the various dances.
The happiness of the students is a far cry from reports Amanda was ‘shaken’ by Giovanni’s ‘militant and aggressive’ training style.
According to show insiders, Amanda called for cameras to be put up in rehearsal rooms as she became increasingly unhappy with his attitude.
After her request, The Sun claims BBC bosses had a meeting with Giovanni over his conduct, but no action was taken.
A source told the publication: ‘Some of the professionals and crew feel it needs to be dealt with and Giovanni shouldn’t come back this year.
‘The BBC are standing behind Giovanni and won’t be pursuing an investigation, it’s a shock to some on the show who think something needs to be done about his behaviour.
‘Amanda had a really tough time with him and she isn’t the only one. Four more of his partners have either talked openly about how hard it was working with him or have made it clear in the industry.’
has contacted Giovanni’s representatives for comment. The BBC declined to comment.
BBC bosses have been left baffled by Amanda Abbington’s request for footage of her Strictly rehearsals.
Amanda made a sudden departure from the last year’s series, citing ‘personal reasons’
It was reported she had quit after clashing with her dance partner Giovanni , but she dismissed claims of a fallout at the time
Amanda made a sudden departure from the last year’s series, citing ‘personal reasons’.
It was reported she had quit after clashing with her dance partner Giovanni, but she dismissed claims of a fallout at the time.
Sources at the BBC are ready to fight the Sherlock actress over her claims the show had traumatised her, saying that – at the time – she told them she was quitting due to a different medical reason.
READ MORE: Strictly Come Dancing’s Amanda Abbington ‘was not invited back for series final by show bosses’ after her sudden exit… as she insists she’s ‘truly distraught’ she did not take part
A source told the Mail: ‘Amanda’s reason for quitting Strictly was an entirely different one to her PTSD.
‘She told production of a totally different medical condition and they [were] hugely supportive of her and did all they could to help.
‘Nobody seems to quite understand what is going on here.’
It is understood that first BBC chiefs knew about her PTSD was late last year when they received a request for the tapes.
There is added confusion because Amanda quickly shot down suggestions – made before the show aired in September – that she and Giovanni had fallen out.
On Instagram, she dismissed the claims as ‘bulls****’ and told people to, ‘Shut up, it’s b******s.’
During broadcasts, she and the Italian dancer – who has worked on the show since 2015 – were seen hugging and appearing to be friends.
One Strictly source said: ‘All you’d see at the studio were the pair of them hugging and kissing.’
It has reportedly taken months for Amanda to recover from her time on the programme and she has apparently needed therapy following the ‘behaviour she was exposed to’.
A source told The Sun: ‘Everyone else was having a fabulous time but she was really stressed by having to spend eight hours a day with Giovanni. She spent a lot of time crying and couldn’t sleep or eat properly.’
The partners were said to have been at loggerheads for weeks during rehearsals, with the actress ‘left shaken’ by the professional dancer’s ‘militant and aggressive’ training style.
Known to be a ‘perfectionist’, it is not the first time Giovanni has had issues with his celebrity partners.
In 2016, TV presenter Laura Whitmore said: ‘I’m still not ready to talk in-depth about my experience on the show.
‘I was placed with a dance partner I was extremely uncomfortable with and in the end I felt broken, I cried every day. And I was really broken, both mentally and physically, by the end.’
Amanda recently said she was distraught to leave the show after a fan commented on her sudden departure
It is not the first time Giovanni has had issues with his celebrity partners. In 2016, Laura Whitmore said: ‘I’m still not ready to talk in-depth about my experience on the show’
Ranvir admitted that she had a ‘total meltdown’ during rehearsals with professional partner Giovanni (pictured together in 2020)
In 2020, Giovanni fell out with Good Morning Britain presenter Ranvir Singh as she admitted to having a ‘total meltdown’ in rehearsals with him.
The ITV presenter told her co-star Kate Garraway that she and the dancer had a ’20-minute divorce’ as things became tense in training.
She said gruelling rehearsals pushed her to walk out and take some time to gather herself after Giovanni ‘put me in my place’.
Amanda has been contacted for comment. Giovanni declined to comment.