Actress Amanda Abbington has called a BBC apology over complaints of bullying on Strictly Come Dancing a “vindication”.
A BBC investigation into Abbington’s claims “upheld some, but not all” of her complaints about professional dancer Giovanni Pernice’s behaviour during her time on Strictly.
The Sherlock actress, who pulled out of the BBC One show last year citing “personal reasons”, later claimed she was subject to a “toxic environment” and “inappropriate, mean, nasty bullying”.
While there were no findings relating to physical aggression, it is understood that complaints of verbal bullying and harassment were upheld.
Responding to the report, a representative for Pernice said he was “relieved” the BBC report – which has taken six months to complete – found no evidence of threatening or abusive behaviour.
In a statement, Abbington said: “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 50-year-old performer said she will now be considering whether to meet with senior management at the BBC, and hoped the corporation “makes the changes it promised”.
Ex-Strictly professional ‘pleased’ and ‘relieved’
Pernice, who did not return to dance on the show this year, said he was “relieved” the BBC review had not found “any evidence of threatening or abusive behaviour” by him.
The 34-year-old Italian dancer has previously denied the allegations, and earlier this month announced he was joining the Italian equivalent of Dancing With The Stars, Ballando con le Stelle.
A dark chapter in Strictly’s history
After a painfully slow process, the BBC has returned a report where everyone gets to save face. Carefully worded, the corporation finds itself treading on eggshells with this one.
Giovanni Pernice was cleared of using any threatening behaviour. Amanda Abbington is seemingly satisfied with her apology and an admission that the show hadn’t supported her enough.
The BBC gets to point once again to its supposedly “robust” duty of care policies – the paperwork of daily record-keeping we’re assured that’s now in place – which is almost as taxing to keep up with as the show’s musical routines.
It’s been a dark chapter in this sunny show’s history.
Since the programme’s return, there’s been a not-so-subtle narrative onscreen of sympathetic conversations between dancers who are now repeatedly checking in on their celebrity partners.
With changes now in place, the BBC management will be hoping this is at least one crisis it can put to bed.
In a written statement, a spokesperson for Giovanni Pernice said: “We are pleased that this six month review has not found any evidence of threatening or abusive behaviour by Giovanni.
“Giovanni is relieved that the overwhelming majority of allegations put to the BBC have not been upheld and looks forward to continuing his work on Dancing With The Stars in Italy this season.”
Pernice had danced on Strictly since 2015, lifting the glitterball trophy for the first time in 2021 alongside EastEnders star Rose Ayling-Ellis. He had appeared in three show finals previously.
‘We want to apologise’
In a statement summarising its findings, the BBC said: “We take any allegations of bullying and harassment very seriously and this review has taken time due to its complex nature and our desire to ensure a rigorous and robust process was undertaken.
“Strictly Come Dancing is a family show and we rightly expect very high standards. While competition can be tough, rigorous and demanding, we want the show to ultimately be a joyous and transformative experience. It is a great shame if this hasn’t been the case for everyone who has appeared on the show.
“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.”
While it said the Strictly production team “took steps to address the issues as they understood them” at the time, the corporation admitted “ultimately these were not enough”.
The BBC also thanked “a number of individuals” aside from Abbington who contributed to the investigation.
It then listed various new duty of care measures, introduced to protect contestants, including the presence of a production team member in training and rehearsals, two newly created production roles (celebrity welfare producer and professional dancer welfare producer) and additional training for the professional dancers, production team and crew.
The BBC say 15 training room observers are now in place for rehearsals (including breaks, warm-ups and rest periods) and it has implemented “weekly welfare meetings”, which include a review of daily training logs.
In addition, there is also a “pre-series psychological review”, workshops on the culture and expected behaviour of the show and a formal exit interview for all outgoing contestants.
Speaking to BBC News, BBC chief content officer Charlotte Moore said she could not go into detail because of the “confidentiality of a complaints process”.
She said the corporation was “trying to balance that with the desire to be open and to be transparent about the way our complaints processes work”.
She added: “So I think it’s really important that we’re as open and transparent as we can be about that process, which is why we’ve issued the statement.”
Previous complaints
Abbington’s complaint is not the only Strictly issue to have been flagged to the BBC.
Another Strictly professional dancer, Graziano Di Prima, was previously axed from the show after he admitted kicking Strictly partner Zara McDermott in training once last year.
Irish TV presenter Laura Whitmore previously said she spoke to the Strictly review team, and said she was subjected to “inappropriate behaviour”. She was partnered with Pernice in 2016, and was eliminated seventh that year.
Paralympian Will Bayley had also spoken out about duty of care issues.
Strictly’s 20th anniversary season is now in its fourth week, with Olympic swimmer Tom Dean becoming the first contestant to leave the show on Sunday.