Amanda Abbington has responded with a very frank statement after Strictly Come Dancing pro Giovanni Pernice gave a candid interview about his experience working with her on the show.
The public back and forth comes after the results of a long-awaited BBC investigation were revealed, with six of the 17 complaints against Pernice being upheld.
Pernice recalled his last exchange with the Sherlock star before she dramatically quit the show in the middle of filming. He insisted that they had shared a “very rude banter” from the beginning of their working relationship and that their last interaction had been on good terms.
Abbington has hit back at those claims, calling them “delusional”.
“Mr Pernice’s claim that ‘everything in the rehearsal room worked perfectly’ is false and delusional, and underlines the toxic culture Ms Abbington endured on Strictly Come Dancing,” her representatives said in a statement to the Daily Mail.
“The BBC’s own investigation concluded that Mr Pernice was in breach of multiple BBC Policies, including repeated breaches of the Anti-Bullying and Harassment Policy. Mr Pernice was spoken to by the BBC on several occasions about his misconduct – but his behaviour only continued.”
The statement continued, “At no time did Ms Abbington regard his verbal abuse or inappropriate behaviour as banter. This is precisely the kind of gaslighting behaviour which victims of bullying and harassment often have to endure: it’s these people Ms Abbington will continue to speak up for.”
Abbington’s representatives also shared that the actor had been left “concerned” with the way her complaint was handled by the BBC.
She revealed that she will be meeting with the corporation to discuss the way that it had been handled, particularly with the media. It comes after the star said she is considering further action about specific allegations such as the claim that Pernice made a shocking sexual gesture towards her.
“Ms Abbington remains concerned about the way the inquiry into her complaint was handled by the BBC,” the statement continued. “And the leaking of the investigation report to the press, and will be meeting with the Corporation in due course to raise these in more detail.”
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The 50-year-old pulled out of the BBC One show last year and later filed complaints of verbal bullying and harassment against her professional dance partner Pernice, and revealed she had endured PTSD as a result of the experience.
The BBC’s months-long investigation into his conduct acknowledged Abbington’s complaints of verbal bullying and harassment but concluded that the Italian dancer was not physically aggressive to his celebrity partner.