Strictly Come Dancing's Giovanni Pernice has broken his silence on Amanda Abbington's sex complaint.
The professional dancer has opened up in an interview where he has denied the sexual allegations against him. He and the actress were paired up together on the 2023 series of the show but she left suddenly citing personal reasons.
However, it then came out that an investigation into Giovanni's behaviour had been launched as bullying allegations came to light. Opening up about her experience, Amanda said that she had PTSD from the show due to Giovanni's behaviour which involved complaints of a sexual nature. Six of the 17 allegations were upheld by the BBC investigation.
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PA)Now Giovanni has spoken to the Mail Online about what he experienced during this time. Three months after the BBC had launched its investigation Giovanni found that Amanda was going to appear in an interview with Channel 4's Krishnan Guru-Murthy where she claimed that the bullying allegations against Giovanni were "of a sexual nature".
Speaking about how he felt when the interview was airing, Giovanni said: "I wanted to punch the television. I didn't watch it, I couldn't watch the interview because I was thinking, 'Why would you talk on live TV when we've both been asked not to talk about it?' My Sicilian blood would rise up and I'd think, 'This isn't the truth' – but I had to remain silent.
"It was the first time there was talk of anything sexual. Of course, I was worried it could destroy my career – the people that come to my shows are kids and women. I was painted as a person I am not. It seemed like the only point was to destroy me."
Giovanni has also revealed the final conversation between himself and Amanda before she lodged a complaint to the BBC. Giovanni said he was "gutted" when he received a call from BBC staff informing him that Amanda had quit. Prior to the call, Amanda had opened up to Giovanni during rehearsals, explaining that she had found two lumps in her breasts, just months after being given the all clear from a mammogram.
"Amanda told me that she couldn't concentrate because while she was having a shower she had found two lumps," he told the Daily Mail. He went on to add that he said to Amanda he was hoping it was "nothing serious" and even offered to get his own doctor involved to have a scan "right away."
"So the last message between us was me saying to her: 'Can I help you? Please let me help you, forget about the dance, forget about the show, this is more important than anything,'" he told the outlet. Giovanni added: "This was the last time I heard from Amanda."
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