Actress Amanda Abbington has revealed that she and her daughter have received rape threats and her son has been threatened with death since she withdrew from Strictly Come Dancing last year. Abbington has accused the behaviour of her former professional partner Giovanni Pernice as “unnecessary, abusive, cruel and mean”. Pernice – who denied allegations of threatening or abusive behaviour at the time – has since left the show. The BBC reacted that it takes its “duty of care extremely seriously”.
Abbington has been hesitant to explain what occurred on the show due to the BBC’s ongoing inquiry. Nevertheless, she has claimed that she experienced bullying and aggressive behaviour which had “other things that happened that were very upsetting”. The producers said they were “shocked and horrified” after reviewing footage of her training with Pernice, but she claimed that she had not been taken seriously. The actress wanted to encourage others who feel they are being bullied or are in a “toxic and unsafe” profession to speak up.
Abbington claimed that she received dozens of threatening messages a day, including from individuals telling her to kill herself. She called for more extensive societal support for those seeking to report inappropriate behaviour, commenting that there “potentially” could be further individuals coming forward to share similar stories.
The BBC’s director-general Tim Davie apologised earlier this week to contestants whose experiences on Strictly Come Dancing had not been “wholly positive”. The controversy surrounding the show grew after further allegations against former professional dancers Giovanni Pernice and Graziano Di Prima. A spokesperson for the BBC commented that anyone involved in a complaint has the right to “fair process and confidentiality” and defended the show’s “processes” with regard to duty of care
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