BBC apologises to Amanda Abbington after Giovanni Pernice investigation – live

Amanda Abbington’s written statement in full says: “As the BBC has indicated today in its statement, my decision to come forward and complain about Giovanni Pernice’s conduct towards me was not an easy thing to do. In the days, weeks and months since I contacted the BBC, I’ve been accused of being a liar, a troublemaker and of being “mad and unstable”. I’ve also received rape and murder threats and a bomb threat was sent to my place of work. My family and children have also been subjected to threats and intimidation.

“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.

“The BBC has invited me to meet with senior management and this is something I will now be considering.

“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.”

Strictly Come Dancing fans have supported Abbington after the BBC partly upheld some of her complaints about Pernice and apologised, with many applauding her for speaking out.

One viewer on X/Twitter wrote: “Good on Amanda Abbington for speaking out about her horrendous experience on Strictly Come Dancing. Getting death and rape threats makes me wonder who in the holy hell is watching something as benign as a TV dance show and getting so angry and aggressive.”

Another wrote: “So pleased to see BBC apologise to Amanda Abbington, its taken too long.” A third added: “Glad Gio has been cleared of allegations of physical allegations by Amanda Abbington. It does sound like he needs to calm down in the training room and hopefully he learns from that. And hopefully no one sends death threats to Amanda, as that is also not OK.”

In a statement, Amanda Abbington called the BBC’s apology a “vindication” of her complaint and said she hoped others would now feel “more confident” that they would be believed.

Charlotte Moore, chief content officer for the BBC, told BBC News that it was “terrible” that Abbington had been subjected to online abuse, and said she had personally apologised to the actor twice.

A brief statement from Giovanni Pernice’s spokesperson says he is “pleased” that the review “has not found any evidence of threatening or abusive behaviour” by him.

Sherlock star Amanda Abbington previously accused him of being “unneccessary, abusive, cruel and mean” during their rehearsals, which he had always strongly denied.

The BBC says it wants Strictly to be “a positive experience for everyone involved”, which is why it reviews and updates its welfare and support processes each year.

“In July we introduced new measures for training and rehearsals, which are in place for this year’s show,” its statement on Monday 30 September said.

“These included a production team member present during training room rehearsals at all times; two new roles on the show dedicated to welfare support – a Celebrity Welfare Producer and a Professional Dancer Welfare Producer (both started work in August); and additional training for the professional dancers, production team and crew.

“In addition we introduced 15 training room observers in place for rehearsals. They complete daily training logs – including covering breaks, warm-ups and rest periods.”

The broadcaster said that from the start of the new series it has implemented weekly welfare meetings with the show’s senior team, as well as the BBC’s editorial policy advisor and the BBC’s duty of care executive.

“These meetings include a review of all the daily training logs,” the statement said.

“Every celebrity and pro dancer is offered a pre-series psychological review. They complete ‘wellbeing questionnaires’ with the welfare producers and talk about the type of experience the celebrity would like on the show and expectations of training from both sides.

“Everyone working on Strictly, in front and behind camera, has attended workshops addressing the culture of the show and expected behaviour.

“Building on previous protocols, there is a formal exit interview process for all involved as they leave the show, which will be logged and documented. These new measures build on longstanding processes and procedures on the show. We will always look at whether there is more we should do.”

However, Pernice has been cleared of some of the most serious allegations levied against him.

BBC News has reported that Abbington’s complaints of verbal bullying and harassment have been upheld, while it was concluded that Pernice was not physically aggressive to the Sherlock star, whom he was partnered with on last year’s series.

Announcing the result of the investigation on Monday (30 September), the BBC said: “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.”