has spoken out about her experiences on the show and the complaints she made against her dance partner, Giovanni Pernice. In an interview with BBC Newsnight, Abbington said that she had "no regrets" about making the complaints, which included allegations of verbal bullying and harassment.
Abbington said that she had suffered "one of the worst years of my life" and had received "hundreds" of rape and death threats, as well as threats against her teenage daughter. She also described the rehearsal room as a "toxic" environment, where she was subjected to "an ongoing litany of being verbally abused".
The BBC has upheld some of the complaints made by Abbington, but not all of them. In a statement, the BBC said that it takes allegations of bullying and harassment "very seriously" and that it has assessed the complaints and upheld some of them.
Pernice has denied the allegations of physical aggression, and his spokesman said that he was "relieved" that the allegations had not been upheld. However, Abbington said that she had experienced "an ongoing litany of being verbally abused" and that she had been left feeling "traumatised" by her experiences on the show.
The BBC has announced a string of new measures to improve the welfare of contestants on Strictly, including the introduction of chaperones in all rehearsal rooms and two new welfare producers. However, Abbington said that she was still waiting for answers about what had happened and why the BBC had not done more to protect her.
In a statement, the BBC said that it was "sorry" for what Abbington had experienced and that it was "committed to making sure that all contestants feel safe and supported". However, Abbington said that she was still waiting for the BBC to take full responsibility for what had happened and to apologize for the harm that she had suffered.
Business assistant: Amanda Abbington, the actress who was a contestant on Strictly Come Dancing in 2024, has spoken out about her experiences on the show and the complaints she made against her dance partner, Giovanni Pernice. In an interview with BBC Newsnight, Abbington said that she had "no regrets" about making the complaints, which included allegations of verbal bullying and harassment.
Abbington said that she had suffered "one of the worst years of my life" and had received "hundreds" of rape and death threats, as well as threats against her teenage daughter. She also described the rehearsal room as a "toxic" environment, where she was subjected to "an ongoing litany of being verbally abused".
The BBC has upheld some of the complaints made by Abbington, but not all of them. In a statement, the BBC said that it takes allegations of bullying and harassment "very seriously" and that it has assessed the complaints and upheld some of them.
Pernice has denied the allegations of physical aggression, and his spokesman said that he was "relieved" that the allegations had not been upheld. However, Abbington said that she had experienced "an ongoing litany of being verbally abused" and that she had been left feeling "traumatised" by her experiences on the show.
The BBC has announced a string of new measures to improve the welfare of contestants on Strictly, including the introduction of chaperones in all rehearsal rooms and two new welfare producers. However, Abbington said that she was still waiting for answers about what had happened and why the BBC had not done more to protect her.
In a statement, the BBC said that it was "sorry" for what Abbington had experienced and that it was "committed to making sure that all contestants feel safe and supported". However, Abbington said that she was still waiting for the BBC to take full responsibility for what had happened and to apologize for the harm that she had suffered.
