Giovanni Pernice’s former Strictly partner Laura Whitmore has broken her silence after the results of the Amanda Abbington probe were released on Monday.
Six of Amanda’s allegations against pro Giovanni were upheld – after she made a series of bullying claims against him during her time on the show last year.
The Corporation apologised to the Sherlock actress, 50, who said she felt ‘vindicated’ by the investigation, despite Giovanni being cleared on 11 of 17 allegations.
Laura was also partnered with Giovanni on the show in 2016 and was one of the stars who spoke to the BBC as part of the investigations after what she described as his ‘inappropriate’ behaviour on the show.
She said she first raised concerns in 2016 with the show and in August this year accused the BBC of ‘gaslighting’ her over her experience with Giovanni.
Giovanni Pernice’s former Strictly partner Laura Whitmore has broken her silence after the results of the Amanda Abbington probe were released on Monday
Six of Amanda’s allegations against pro Giovanni were upheld – after she made a series of bullying claims against him during her time on the show last year
In 2018, Laura also shared that she didn’t enjoy her time on Strictly with Giovanni, leaving the competition in week seven feeling ‘broken’ and admitting she ‘cried every day’.
Now she has spoken out after the probe was completed saying on her Instagram Story: ‘I hope this helps people realise they should not be subjected to abusive behaviour in the workplace.
‘Things can be twisted online and there’s so much more to this but in black and white there were complaints upheld and an apology made. And the perpetrator no longer works for the channel.’
In July Laura confirmed she had spoken to the BBC about Giovanni‘s ‘inappropriate’ behaviour on Strictly.
She claimed she initially raised concerns to the BBC six years ago and said she had discussed with six former Strictly stars about their time on the show.
On an Instagram post, Laura wrote: ‘I was trying not to comment on recent press speculation until the BBC review is complete but feel there is a lot of misinformation in the press and I want to help and show support by setting the record straight.
‘I was asked to speak to the BBC along with six people that I know of (who deserve anonymity as they don’t want to be dragged through the press), about inappropriate behaviour they experienced similar to mine with the same individual.
‘I initially raised concerns back in 2016. I thought my experience was specific to me but I’ve since learned I was wrong.
Laura was also partnered with Giovanni on the show in 2016 and was one of the stars who spoke to the BBC as part of the investigations after what she described as his ‘inappropriate’ behaviour on the show
Now she has spoken out after the probe was completed saying on her Instagram Story: ‘I hope this helps people realise they should not be subjected to abusive behaviour in the workplace’
Amanda had compared the dance show to ‘the trenches’
In July Laura confirmed she had spoken to the BBC about Giovanni ‘s ‘inappropriate’ behaviour on Strictly
‘The aim of this is to show a pattern of behaviour that I believe needs to stop. My evidence is to support other people’s experience. It’s a shame it takes this for someone to be heard.
‘I am not looking for anything just an acceptance that what happened to me in the rehearsal rooms during my time on BBC Strictly was wrong and that it won’t happen to anyone else again.
‘Because I have not made an official complaint, and am providing evidence of my experience to support the investigation, not all the communication will be passed on to all parties involved.
‘Misinformation is being put into the press so I want to set the record straight. Victim blaming must stop or we will never get better.
‘I’ve tried to speak up in the correct way. I know the BBC and all outlets continue to do their best to be better, but for that to happen we must speak up.’
Amanda – Giovanni’s last celebrity partner – quit Strictly last year due to ‘personal reasons’ before reports she had demanded footage of their rehearsals after the experience in the competition left her with PTSD.
Sources then claimed Amanda, Ranvir Singh and Laura had an ’emotional summit’ where they ‘compared notes’ about their time working with Giovanni on the show – prompting the BBC to launch a probe into his conduct.
In 2018, Laura shared that she didn’t enjoy her time on Strictly with Giovanni, leaving the competition in week seven feeling ‘broken’ and admitting she ‘cried every day’.
The Irish presenter wasn’t happy about being paired with her close friend Georgia May Foote’s ex not long after the pair had split – and felt ‘extremely uncomfortable’ dancing with him.
Writing for The Huffington Post at the time, Laura said: ‘I love dancing – I topped the leaderboard twice – but I was thrown into the middle of a break-up that had nothing to do with me. Once again, I was a ‘rumoured love interest’.
‘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 really was broken, both mentally and physically, by the end.’
It comes after it was reported that The BBC could be facing a lawsuit from actress Amanda over loss of earnings and damages – after six of her allegations against Giovanni were upheld.
The Corporation has apologised to the star, who said she felt ‘vindicated’ by the investigation, despite her former Strictly Come Dancing partner being cleared on 11 of 17 allegations.
But in another twist to the Strictly scandal, a source told The Sun last night: ‘She has been through hell and lost work as a result of going public, and is considering taking further action against the BBC for damages and loss of earnings.
‘Amanda suffered enormously, got formally diagnosed with PTSD, and feels the BBC breached its duty of care guidelines by not protecting her sooner.
‘It’s hard to put a figure on how much she could expect if things go her way, but it could be up to £300,000.’
Mr Pernice has also seen the outcome of the investigation as a success – as he revealed the toll the bullying probe had on him.
A six-month probe into the star, who is now performing on the Italian version of the show, came to an end yesterday as the findings of the BBC‘s investigation were released to Mr Pernice and Ms Abbington.
Speaking exclusively to MailOnline after being cleared on 11 of 17 allegations, Mr Pernice described the turmoil he faced from reading ‘story after story’ while trying to respect the integrity of the BBC’s process.
His former partner quit the show abruptly in just week five of last year’s series, citing personal reasons, before going on to accuse the dancer of ‘mean’ and ‘cruel’ behaviour.
Mr Pernice said he was ‘relieved’ following the end of the probe which found in his favour on all but six of the 17 allegations, telling MailOnline: ‘I’m glad the review has finally come to an end.
‘The majority of the allegations have been thrown out by the review. It has been an extremely difficult year, reading story after story and not being able to say anything in return as I respected the integrity of the review, which the BBC asked everyone to do.
‘I loved my time on Strictly and made some amazing memories. But now I am fully focused on Dancing With The Stars in Italy and supporting my dance partner Bianca.
‘I’m grateful to all those who have supported me at this time – I really don’t know how I would have got through this with out the love and belief of my family, friends, colleagues and fans.’
Despite bosses not upholding allegations that Mr Pernice was physically aggressive, it did uphold some of Ms Abbington’s complaints of verbal bullying and harassment.
The BBC also agreed with Ms Abbington that at times he appeared to be giving her overly negative feedback.
A source close to Italian star Mr Pernice said yesterday: ‘Gio is pleased that this has been thrown out after what has been a torrid nine months or so for him.’
Sources have told MailOnline Ms Abbington’s bullying claims included Giovanni swearing at her and not giving her enough feedback during their rehearsal sessions which took place last autumn. She also claimed that her partner stepped on her toe.
One said: ‘Giovanni has never tried to say he isn’t a hard taskmaster but he isn’t a bully.’
Sources close to the Sicilian heart-throb Giovanni say that he spent much time trying to counsel Amanda, who would admit herself that she was a ‘nightmare.’
‘Gio tried to find common ground with Amanda all of the time,’ said one. ‘She admitted herself she was difficult, Gio tried his best to navigate and when she quit for medical reasons he still helped her after that.
‘The last nine months have taken their toll on Giovanni, he has kept going though. As he says, his Strictly career in the UK might be over but his dancing one isn’t. He will keep going, he has done nothing wrong.
‘It all seems such a huge waste of time.’
The inquiry did not find evidence of any sexually inappropriate behaviour, but Ms Abbington nonetheless said she felt ‘vindicated’ by the findings.
Ms Abbington said: ‘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.
‘I hope those who have felt unable to speak out now will be more confident that they will be listened to and believed.’
She added that she is ‘considering’ a proposal from the BBC to meet with senior management.
Ms Abbington also said: ‘This apology means a great deal to me. So too does the fact that the BBC have acknowledged the steps that were put in place to support and protect me and past contestants were ‘not enough’.
‘What matters most now is that lessons have been learned and that the BBC makes the changes they’ve promised, to ensure others don’t experience the same ordeal that I and others like me did.’
Giovanni quit Strictly last April after the BBC said it was launching the inquiry. He had been offered a new contract to star in the 2024 series – the 20th anniversary – and was set to sign it.
He is currently appearing on the Italian version of the show, Ballando con le Stelle, in which he is partnered with singer and actress Bianca Guaccero.
Speaking yesterday, the chief content officer at the BBC said a number of complaints under its bullying and harassment policy were upheld, but said she was unable to go into further detail on the allegations made by Amanda Abbington about the actress’s time on Strictly Come Dancing.
Charlotte Moore told the BBC: ‘There were a number of complaints under our bullying and harassment policy, and a number of those complaints have been upheld. Not all of them, but a number of them have been upheld.
‘I’m not able to go into further detail on that, and there are very good reasons for that.
‘It’s probably worth me just laying out the confidentiality of a complaints process, which I think is absolutely integral to the complaints process, and confidentiality needs to be respected out of fairness to everybody involved.
‘But of course, we’re also trying to balance that with the desire to be open and to be transparent about the way our complaints processes work – and obviously in this case, there’s been lots of media speculation and lots of interest.
‘So I think it’s really important that we’re as open and transparent as we can be about that process, which is why we’ve issued the statement.’
In its statement, the broadcaster said: ‘The BBC has now concluded its review into the complaints made by Amanda Abbington against Giovanni Pernice.
‘We take any allegations of bullying and harassment very seriously and this review has taken time due to its complex nature and our desire to ensure a rigorous and robust process was undertaken.
‘Strictly Come Dancing is a family show and we rightly expect very high standards. While competition can be tough, rigorous and demanding, we want the show to ultimately be a joyous and transformative experience.
‘It is a great shame if this hasn’t been the case for everyone who has appeared on the show.
‘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.
‘At the time, although the production team took steps to address the issues as they understood them, ultimately these were not enough.
Laura claimed she initially raised concerns to the BBC six years ago and said she had discussed with six former Strictly stars about their time on the show
Mr Pernice said he was ‘relieved’ following the end of the probe telling MailOnline: ‘I’m glad the review has finally come to an end’
The BBC conducted a probe after Amanda quit the 2023 series after just five weeks before making the allegations
‘This is why the measures we have taken to further strengthen our existing protocols are so important.
‘The BBC heard from a number of individuals in making its findings. We want to thank them for participating.
‘The BBC has already taken extensive steps to enhance our duty of care for everyone on the show and a full note of these steps is published alongside this statement’.
After the UK’s current series got underway earlier this month, the BBC has been keen to focus on its enhanced welfare measures introduced this year, including dedicated staff members to support contestants and chaperones placed in all training rooms.