Strictly Come Dancing’s Giovanni Pernice has finally broken his silence on former celeb partner Amanda Abbington’s explosive exit from the BBC show.
The actress, 52, quit mid-series last year for “personal reasons” amid claims of a feud between her and Giovanni, 33, before reports that she had demanded footage of their rehearsals, following the experience in the competition left her with PTSD.
Talking further Only the mirror’s invitation podcast with fellow dancer Anton Du Beke, 57, he said: ‘It’s a shame because in my opinion (Amanda) could have gone all the way.’
While judge Anton added: ‘I thought you and Amanda were amazing. I thought you were amazing’, comparing the Sherlock actress’ talents to 2019 winner Kelvin Fletcher.
Following accusations about his ‘militant’ teaching style, Giovanni admitted he was a ‘perfectionist’ but said it came from a ‘caring perspective’ and that he believed all other professional dancers were the same.
Strictly Come Dancing ‘s Giovanni Pernice, 33, has finally broken his silence about former celeb partner Amanda Abbington’s explosive exit from the show
The actress, 52, quit mid-series last year for ‘personal reasons’ amid claims of a feud between her and Giovanni before reports she had demanded footage of their rehearsals after the experience in the competition left her her with PTSD (pictured together to show)
To say, ‘In every part of the world, if you’re a professional dancer on one of these (strictly) shows, you’ve got to make these people look their best on Saturday night’.
“And if we have good results at the end, I look back and say, ‘I did a good job’. But we all care about our partners and that’s what we want for them every single week; to look good A saturday”.
He continued: ‘There is no specific way you are or should be with your celebrity. You make the best of their strengths, so the only thing that’s constant is that you have to put on a show on Saturday night.’
It comes after MailOnline exclusively revealed that Amanda had dropped her complaint to the BBC and had not contacted the Corporation about the matter further.
Sources at the BBC said the ‘case is now closed’ and they have ‘moved on’ after she asked to review the footage of their off-screen dancing after she left the series, citing ‘personal reasons’.
Amanda also sought legal advice about Giovanni’s alleged behavior towards her as she believed video footage could ‘back up’ her claims.
It is understood BBC bosses first knew about her PTSD late last year when they received a request for the tapes.
A show insider told the Mail: ‘It was all confusing but when Amanda contacted the BBC she wanted some answers.
During a podcast appearance with fellow dancer Anton Du Beke (L), Giovanni (H) said: ‘It’s a shame because in my opinion (Amanda) could have gone all the way’
The actress noticeably dissed the professional dancer from her exit statement, which she posted on Instagram
“But she has not followed it through, and the case is now closed. Amanda said she left for a medical reason at the time, but it wasn’t PTSD.
‘Her complaint was of course investigated, but they were adamant that Giovanni had done nothing wrong. The BBC was ready to fight her, Amanda’s reason for quitting Strictly was completely different to her PTSD.
‘She told production about a completely different medical condition and they (were) hugely supportive of her and did everything they could to help.’
Amanda left the show in week five of October. It has reportedly taken her months to recover from her time on the show and she has apparently needed therapy following the ‘behaviour she was subjected to’.
Amanda told about her condition The sun: ‘I was diagnosed with mild PTSD after Strictly for a number of reasons and I told a few people about this in the strictest confidence, including what was going on in my life at the time both professionally and personally.’
A BBC spokesman declined to comment at the time.
It comes after MailOnline exclusively revealed that Amanda had dropped her complaint to the BBC and had not contacted the company further about the matter.
Amanda was praised by the judges for her performances during her time on the show, but it was claimed she was struggling behind the scenes.
This was reported by an internal source The telegraph: ‘It could be that she didn’t know what she was getting herself into.
‘He (Giovanni) was quite tough and she found it difficult. If she wasn’t feeling well, it wouldn’t have helped.
‘She was with a partner who had a certain style of training that she couldn’t handle. Whether it came to the head or whether there is something else going on, I don’t know.’
Giovanni’s parents said the dancer was ‘just doing his job’ following Amanda’s shock departure from Strictly.
Giovanni’s father Piero and mother Rosalda then admitted to the news at the time that their son was ‘training for long hours but just doing his job’.
Shining star Giovanni reportedly only got the news of Amanda’s exit hours before the official statement was released.
A source told Daily Star: ‘Amanda did not tell Giovanni that she had decided to leave the show. The first thing he heard was a call from a producer.
‘This has really pissed him off. He has barely heard from her in 10 days. She hasn’t responded to messages or told him what’s going on.
‘He has complained about it to friends. He is frustrated. He is worried that the drama will be damaging to his career and make him look bad.’
Amanda snubbed the show’s December finale, where the stars of this year’s series, who had previously been eliminated, came together to do a group dance and celebrate with the winner.
A source said The mirror on why she wouldn’t be there: ‘They wanted to position her as still very much part of the Strictly family, but Amanda’s response to the invitation was that she wouldn’t be back.
‘It’s a shame because her exit has been a sour note for the series this year.’
The Strictly insider added that her snoop has been ‘difficult’ and upsetting for Giovanni as he doesn’t want people to see it ‘as a reflection on him.’
They added that while the pair sometimes ‘clash’, Giovanni wishes her all the best.
Giovanni has reportedly fallen out with a number of his former partners on the show.
In 2016, former Love Island host Laura Whitmore said she ‘cried every day’ and felt ‘uncomfortable’ while training with him.
She later wrote for HuffPost UK in 2018: ‘I’m still not ready to talk in depth about my experience on the show.
‘I was placed with a dance partner I was extremely uncomfortable with and in the end I felt devastated, I cried every day. And I was really broken, both mentally and physically, at the end.’
Giovanni is also said to have clashed with Good Morning Britain star Ranvir Singh in 2020 and ‘feuded’ with Richie Anderson in 2022.