Giovanni Pernice stands accused of “inappropriate” behaviour during rehearsals by Amanda Abbington, but he is convinced footage he “secretly recorded” – including audio of her apologising for being a “nightmare” – will exonerate him.
However, now Laura Whitmore – who partnered him on Strictly Come Dancing in 2016 just weeks after his romance with his 2015 partner Georgia May Foote ended – has come forward with her own comment. She has clarified that she “raised concerns” about him at the time and has not made an official complaint, but is helping with enquiries.
The former Love Island host and model took to Instagram this afternoon to reveal she had been “trying not to comment on recent press speculation until the BBC review is complete”. However, after becoming alarmed and fearing “misinformation”, she decided she wanted “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,” she wrote, adding that she “initially raised concerns back in 2016”. She stated: “I thought my experience was specific to me but I’ve since learned I was wrong.”
“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,” she wrote. “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.”
Laura clarified: “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.”
Saying that her goal in speaking out on social media was to “set the record straight” on “misinformation”, she added: “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.”
Giovanni has vehemently denied all allegations of wrongdoing and says he is confident that the evidence he is presenting will exonerate him.
Laura had not made any public complaints about “inappropriate behaviour” prior to today, and a source had earlier suggested that she felt unhappy being paired with him when her friend, Georgia May Foote, had split up with him weeks before they began dancing together.
She stated at the time that she was “extremely uncomfortable” being around him and hit out at Strictly bosses after finding herself spending “12 hour days” with him and reluctantly attending red carpet events together.
Meanwhile, Amanda’s reps have argued that the footage Giovanni holds will “not exonerate him”, suggesting that she was merely being “self-deprecating” and expressing that it must be “difficult” for him to work with her due to her lack of pro dancing skills.
Giovanni’s rep countered: “We would urge people to wait for the review’s conclusion and not to pay heed to these very serious and defamatory allegations that have no evidence in support of them.”
It is hoped that the review will come to a conclusion next week.