Worried co-stars warned Strictly Come Dancing producers that Amanda Abbington was struggling during rehearsals and were promised: ‘We’re on it, don’t worry.’
The BBC show has been engulfed by drama since Giovanni Pernice was suspended after his celebrity partner Amanda accused him of abusive behaviour, saying he was ‘cruel and mean.’ He denies the claims.
It was followed by Graziano Di Prima‘s sacking last month over reports he verbally and physically abused Zara McDermott during rehearsals. Graziano has apologised for kicking his former partner and added other allegations do not align with ‘how he remembers it.’
Now, fellow contestant Krishnan Guru-Murthy says he took it upon himself to flag the actresses’ complaints as he knows ‘people at every level at the BBC.’
He bonded with Abbington before she quit and says she made clear she was having problems with Italian dancer Giovanni Pernice, who is now subject of an official inquiry.
Worried co-stars warned Strictly Come Dancing producers that Amanda Abbington was struggling during rehearsals and were promised: ‘We’re on it, don’t worry’
The BBC show has been engulfed by drama since Giovanni Pernice was suspended after his celebrity partner Amanda accused him of abusive behaviour, saying he was ‘cruel and mean.’ He denies the claims
Channel 4 presenter Krishnan said: ‘I set up a group chat on WhatsApp, I think on our first day when we all met.
‘It was very lively and we shared all our experiences throughout Strictly and afterwards.
‘It was full of, oh you know, this is difficult and a nightmare and all that.
‘We would share our trials and tribulations, and Amanda would as well.
‘And so, yes there were messages she posted that made it very clear she was struggling and having a hard time.
‘We were all having a hard time, because it was tough, but it was different in terms of what she was saying.
‘And yes, I did speak to people at the time about the fact I was worried about Amanda and they should speak to her.
‘They reassured me that they were on it and that they were dealing with it and were in close contact with her.
‘After that, you just have to get on with your own experience because for four days of the week you are buried in the Strictly experience with your dance partner and you don’t have time to think about anything else.
‘So I raised it, I talked to them about it, they said, ‘Yes we’re on it, don’t worry.’
Now, fellow contestant Krishnan Guru-Murthy says he took it upon himself to flag the actresses’ complaints as he knows ‘people at every level at the BBC’
He bonded with Abbington before she quit and says she made clear she was having problems with Italian dancer Giovanni Pernice, who is now subject of an official inquiry (pictured with pro partner Lauren Oakley in 2023)
In an emotionally charged interview, Abbington doubled down on her previous allegations of backstage abuse on Strictly Come Dancing
Krishnan later fretted he would be asked why Sherlock star Abbington, 50, – who says her complaints were not handled appropriately by the BBC – quit Strictly during his post-contest interviews.
But suggesting that an official cover-up was already taking place, he says he was told: ‘It won’t come up.’
Speaking to BBC Radio 4 last night, Krishnan added: ‘And it didn’t. Someone said, ‘Don’t ask about that,’ and they didn’t. It shows you the power the BBC has when it comes to Strictly.’
Krishnan went on to warn that this year’s show, which is due to start next month, must be ‘devoid of any controversy’ if it is to survive.
Strictly was also rocked last month by the dismissal of dancer Graziano Di Prima, 30, who was exposed physically and verbally abusing reality star Zara McDermott, 27, during rehearsals.
Asked if co-hosts Tess Daly, 55, and Claudia Winkleman, 52, should address the furore on the first program, Krishnan responded: ‘Oh God, I hope not. I mean, no, they really mustn’t. I think they’ve just got to do a great show.
‘They’ve got to put on a great show that is absolutely bomb proof, devoid of any controversy, everybody has got to have an amazing time and it’s got to be safe as houses and a great show and that’s the only way they can get through this.’
Krishnan, 54, interviewed Abbington on Channel 4 News last week – when she revealed that the ‘abuse’ included what she claims were ‘sexual’ comments made by Pernice, 33. Describing the genesis of the interview, the journalist explained: ‘I hadn’t seen Amanda since week five of Strictly.
‘We’ve been in touch, I sent her text messages and we’ve spoken, but we hadn’t seen each other.
Amanda and Giovanni on Strictly last year
Former celebrity partner Laura Whitmore recently admitted that she too has spoken to the BBC
The former Love Island presenter admitted she talked to six former Strictly stars about their time on the show and took their information to the BBC
‘To be honest, I didn’t arrange this as an interview about Strictly, it was not intended to be a bombshell, tell-all interview.
‘Amanda started doing interviews about a new play she is doing and she did an interview in the Sunday Times and a lot of it was to do with Strictly obviously and I thought, well, she’s talking.
‘I sent her a message and said, ‘Would you like to do something on the telly?’ And she said yes.
‘We never actually discussed what the interview was going to be about or whether we were going to talk about Strictly.
‘We didn’t actually speak to each other until we saw each other that day.
‘I went into it thinking, let’s see what happens and what she wants to talk about and it became very clear very quickly, within the first answer, that she wanted to talk about Strictly and of course I had thought quite a lot about what I wanted to know and what we should ask.
‘It wasn’t a normal, objective interview.
‘I was part of this and I was there and there was lots of stuff I knew that I wasn’t going to reveal because they weren’t my secrets to reveal.
‘So sometimes I was asking her questions where I knew what the answers were, but I was intrigued to hear what she wanted to say and would put into the public domain.
Fellow Italian dancer Graziano Di Prima was sacked from the programme after he was accused of kicking and spitting at former Love Island star Zara McDermott (pictured together during last year’s competition)
Addressing his exit from the show, a ‘devastated’ Di Prima wrote on Instagram: ‘I deeply regret the events that led to my departure from Strictly’
‘I was doing my job as much as possible in giving her the space and asking her the questions and trying to clarify things because I think there’s been a lot of confusion and misinformation around what’s going on, so I wanted to try to get to the bottom of things a bit.’
Unlike Abbington, Krishnan says he has nothing but good memories about his time on Strictly. He wonders if the show suffers from an ‘inbuilt sexism’ that he says is inherent in dance culture.
He continued: ‘It was genuinely revelatory and extraordinary and wonderful and I loved every minute of it.
‘People didn’t believe me and people now keep saying, what was your real experience?
‘And what did you really think because we’ve seen what other people said at the time and are saying now, so maybe you weren’t telling us the truth.
‘No, everything I said was absolutely true.
‘I had a marvellous experience. I was cared for and looked after and felt very safe.
‘Most of all it’s because I had this fantastic dance partner in Lauren Oakley who judged everything brilliantly and was a great teacher and very caring and considerate.
‘Her aim was not to be hyper competitive and to win, she said, ‘Look, I just want to teach you to love dance’ and she did very quickly.
The full Strictly line up was reportedly been ‘leaked’ as alleged list has confirmed the stars joining Pete Wicks (pictured), Paul Merson and Nick Knowles on the upcoming series
It was revealed earlier this month that ex Arsenal player Paul Merson (L) and DIY SOS star Nick Knowles (R) have also reportedly put on their dancing shoes
Famous names on the list included Ted Lasso star Hannah Waddingham
‘I’ve obviously been around a bit and I know about TV and big productions and I know people at every level at the BBC, so I wasn’t concerned that I wouldn’t be able to talk to people if there was anything I was concerned about or if I had any thoughts about Strictly.
‘I knew I could go and talk to people and I did.
‘I’m sure part of it is that I’m a man and – I’ve talked about this before – there is an inbuilt sexism to dance culture.
‘It largely revolves around the boy who gets to choose the girl and gets to call the shots even though the girls are often doing much more of the work and are the ones who are making everything look great.
‘When I lifted Lauren, she would be the one doing most of the work in the way she carried herself, but it’s deceptive because the whole macho nature of dance is that the man is in control.
‘I think there’s an element of that that inevitably filters into Strictly because Strictly is this strange hybrid of BBC1 Saturday night entertainment show and dance extravaganza, West End show, showbiz. And its’ about getting that balance right.’
Abbington – his 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 the actress, Ranvir Singh and Whitmore had an ’emotional summit’ where they ‘compared notes’ about their time working with Pernice on the show – prompting the BBC to launch a probe into his conduct.
Amanda says she feels ‘exposed and vulnerable’ on public transport due to online threats against her from Strictly Come Dancing fans.
The Sherlock actress told BBC Radio 4’s Woman’s Hour: ‘When I’m on the train and things, I do sometimes feel exposed and vulnerable, I do, because of the nature of the threats I was getting.
‘You do feel like you’re public enemy number one for saying ‘I do not feel entirely happy with this’.’
In 2018, Whitmore claimed she didn’t enjoy her time on Strictly, 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, she 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.’