Amanda Abbington appeared in high spirits as she arrived for theatre rehearsals in London on Tuesday amid the Strictly investigation into her allegations of “abusive behaviour”.
Amanda quit the show in October last year citing “personal reasons” before reports quickly emerged that she had demanded footage of her rehearsals, claiming the show and Giovanni Pernice had left her with PTSD.
Giovanni, who strongly denied any threatening or abusive behaviour, was subsequently suspended, and the BBC subsequently launched an investigation into allegations of off-camera misconduct made by Amanda and other celebrities.
But despite the ongoing investigation, Amanda remains optimistic as she flashes a smile and gives a thumbs-up while standing in the sunshine.
The Sherlock star, 50, proudly showed off a ballet slipper-shaped keyring and a cryptic sticker on her phone that read: “We all have to make sacrifices.”
Amanda Abbington appeared in high spirits as she arrived for theatre rehearsals in London on Tuesday amid the Strictly investigation into her allegations of “abusive behaviour”.
The Sherlock Holmes star, 50, proudly showed off a ballet slipper-shaped keyring and a cryptic phone sticker that read: “We all have to make sacrifices.”
Amanda cited “personal reasons” for quitting the BBC show last October, but it was later revealed she had demanded footage of her rehearsals after the experience with the show and her dance partner Giovanni Pernice left her with PTSD.
Amanda looked chic in a white and blue linen summer dress, paired with matching sneakers and a clutch.
Giovanni faces multiple allegations of unsavory behaviour while working as a professional dancer on the show, and his former celebrity partner Laura Whitmore recently admitted that she has spoken out to the BBC too.
Although she has not filed a formal complaint, Whitmore, 39, hopes to get “a simple acceptance” of what happened to her in the rehearsal room.
The former Love Island presenter admitted she spoke to six former Strictly stars about her time on the show and took their information to the BBC.
In an Instagram post, she wrote: ‘I was trying not to comment on recent press speculation until the BBC review is complete, but I feel there is a lot of misinformation in the press and I want to help and show support by setting the record straight.
‘I was asked to speak to the BBC along with six people I know (who deserve anonymity because they do not want to appear in the press) about inappropriate behaviour they experienced similar to mine with the same individual.
‘I initially expressed my concern in 2016. I thought my experience was specific to me, but then I realized I was wrong.
Despite the ongoing investigation, Amanda remains optimistic as she smiled and gave a thumbs up while standing in the sun.
Amanda looked chic in a white and blue linen summer dress, paired with matching sneakers and a clutch.
Amanda quit Strictly last year for ‘personal reasons’ before it was reported she had demanded footage of her rehearsals after the experience on the competition left her with PTSD.
Sources later claimed that the actress, Ranvir Singh and Whitmore had an “emotional summit” where they “compared notes” about their time working with Pernice on the show.
“The point of this is to show a pattern of behaviour that I believe needs to be stopped. My evidence is to support other people’s experience. It’s a shame that it takes this for someone to be heard.
‘I’m not looking for anything, just acceptance that what happened to me in the rehearsal rooms during my time on BBC Strictly was wrong and it won’t happen to anyone else again.
‘As I have not filed an official complaint and am providing evidence from my experience to support the investigation, not all communication will be passed on to all parties involved.
‘Misinformation is being spread in the press, so I want to set the record straight. We need to stop blaming the victims or we will never improve.
“I’ve tried to speak out in the right way. I know the BBC and all the media are still doing everything they can to improve, but for that to happen we need to speak out.”
Abbington – her last celebrity companion – quit Strictly last year for “personal reasons” before reports emerged that she had demanded footage of her rehearsals after the experience on the competition left her with PTSD.
Sources later claimed the actress, Ranvir Singh and Whitmore had an “emotional summit” where they “compared notes” about their time working with Pernice on the show, prompting the BBC to launch an investigation into his conduct.
The Italian ballroom dancing specialist lost his place on the embattled show after former celebrity contestant Amanda Abbington accused him of “bullying and abusive” behaviour.
In an emotionally charged interview, Abbington reaffirmed her previous allegations of backstage abuse on Strictly Come Dancing.
In 2018, Whitmore claimed she did not enjoy her time on Strictly, leaving the competition in week seven feeling “broken” and admitting she “cried every day”.
The Irish presenter was unhappy about being paired with close friend Georgia May Foote’s ex shortly after the pair split and felt “extremely uncomfortable” dancing with him.
In an article for The Huffington Post at the time, she said: “I love to dance, I’ve topped the charts twice, but I found myself in the middle of a breakup that had nothing to do with me. Once again, I was a ‘rumored romantic interest.'”
“I was assigned a dance partner that I felt extremely uncomfortable with and by the end, I was devastated, crying every day. By the end, I was truly devastated, both mentally and physically.”
Strictly was plunged into further crisis on Wednesday after Abbington claimed Pernice was trying to block the publication of up to 50 hours of “toxic” material.
In an emotionally charged interview, the actress compared the dance show to “the trenches” and told Channel 4 News that BBC producers had been “horrified” by the clips which allegedly also showed “humiliating behaviour of a sexual nature”.
Former celebrity partner Laura Whitmore recently admitted that she has also spoken to the BBC.
The former Love Island presenter admitted she spoke to six former Strictly stars about her time on the show and took their information to the BBC.
“There are 50 hours of material that are being blocked. You know, 50 hours is a lot of material and a lot of time spent in a toxic room,” he told host Krishnan Guru-Murthy.
‘It’s out there. There’s evidence of what happened in that room and I’m not the one blocking it.
“I said that anyone can see it, but he (Giovanni) doesn’t want anyone to see it, which is quite revealing if he has nothing to hide.”
A spokesperson for Giovanni told MailOnline: “We urge people to wait for the review to conclude and not pay attention to these very serious and defamatory allegations which have no evidence to support them.”
