Amanda left the show in 2023 alleging verbal harassment and physical aggression

Amanda Abbington has reignited her feud with former Strictly Come Dancing star Giovanni Pernice in new comments, explaining that she felt she “wasn’t being treated fairly” when working with him.

The Sherlock actor, 51, complained about her alleged treatment by dancer Giovanni, 34, on Strictly in 2023. It resulted in her withdrawing from the show partway through the series.

What happened between Giovanni and Amanda?

It was reported that Amanda left due to disagreements over Giovanni’s training methods. And, she had reportedly requested footage of their training sessions, and she was seeking legal advice. Giovanni denied all accusations.

The BBC’s nine-month investigation upheld some of Amanda’s complaints of verbal harassment but found no evidence of physical aggression. In the aftermath, Giovanni left Strictly for Ballando con le Stelle, the Italian version of the show. Meanwhile, Amanda revealed last year that she’d received rape and death threats following her accusations.

Appearing on Kate Thornton’s White Wine Question Time podcast, Amanda explained why she felt she had to speak out in the first place. She said: “I just felt I wasn’t being treated fairly in that room.”

Amanda and Giovanni were partnered up on Strictly in 2023 (Credit: BBC)
It’s not the first time she’s spoken out about the controversy in recent weeks, either. Speaking to The Times in March, she explained that her intention was to say: “Let’s just have a safe space, let’s just take five minutes to make sure we are all happy,” but that she was “made out to be the villain.”

Explaining that her motivation to go public with her concerns was because she had previously been bullied as a child, she added: “Last year was one of the worst years of my entire life. I was very close to having a breakdown because of the constant barrage of abuse and hideousness.”

Giovanni was worried about his career

In January, Giovanni opened up about the investigation, too. He told The Mirror that he was worried it could prove the end of his career, adding: “But I know what I did – that kept me calm, because I knew the truth from the beginning. I was expecting and waiting that all of this would finish and come back with the results that I wanted it to be.”

Giovanni has also had his say (Credit: ITV)
He said a couple of weeks later that he’d be interested in returning to Strictly. However, he didn’t think BBC bosses would have him back.

Last month, meanwhile, Amanda defended her son, Joe Freeman, from ‘nepo baby’ accusations after the 19-year-old landed his first lead TV role. She said that the teen, who she shares with ex-husband Martin Freeman, landed the role on MGM+ series The Institute on his own merits.

She reportedly said: “He spent four months in Canada playing the lead in that. He got it all on his own, without anyone’s help – there was no nepotism there, which was good. None at all.”