Amanda Abbington looking sad / Giovanni Pernice looking annoyed
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‘Cross’ Giovanni Pernice ‘adamant he has concrete evidence Amanda Abbington is lying’: ‘It’s a war now’

Amanda claims there is 50 hours of footage yet to be released

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Giovanni Pernice is reportedly furious with Amanda Abbington over her latest claims about their time together on Strictly as the scandal surrounding the show continues.

During an interview earlier this week, Amanda claimed that some of Giovanni’s alleged bullying was of a “sexual nature”.

Amanda Abbington looking sad during an interview
Amanda did an interview earlier this week (Credit: Channel 4)

Strictly scandal latest

On Wednesday night (July 24) Amanda sat down for an interview with Channel 4.

During the interview, Amanda opened up about her time on the show. She also spoke of how she allegedly suffered bullying at the hands of Giovanni.

Amanda was asked: “I heard, not from you, from somebody else, about an instance of, I suppose you’d call it humiliating behaviour of a sexual nature, is that right?”

Growing tearful, Amanda confirmed that it was. “Yeah. I mean, you know, one of the many things,” she said.

Giovanni Pernice speaking on The One Show
Giovanni has denied any wrongdoing (Credit: BBC)

Giovanni Pernice statement

Now, according to reports, Giovanni is seriously unhappy with Amanda’s latest allegations.

A friend of the star’s spoke to the Daily Mail about Giovanni’s mindset following Amanda’s interviews.

“Gio is so cross. He just can’t work out why she would come out and say these things. She didn’t give any further detail, it’s like she drops a bomb and then doesn’t follow it through. The verdict is just days away now, it’s the home straight for him but he is absolutely determined to clear his name,” they said.

In a statement to ED!, a spokesperson for Giovanni’s said: “We are cooperating fully with the BBC’s review process. All parties have been asked to respect this process and to not speak to the media before it concludes. We will continue to respect the integrity of the investigation and believe it is the right forum for all the evidence to be reviewed. As part of the evidence-led review, the BBC has shared the allegations and there are none, nor any evidence, that resemble Amanda Abbington’s numerous and variable allegations.

“Giovanni refutes any claim of threatening or abusive behaviour, and having provided the BBC with his evidence, is confident that the review will prove this.”

ED! has contacted Amanda reps for comment.

Amanda Abbington on Lorraine
Amanda has been hit with death and rape threats (Credit: ITV)

Amanda on death and rape threats

During an interview on Lorraine yesterday (Thursday, July 27), Amanda opened up about the abuse she’s received since speaking out about Giovanni.

“I knew that raising and voicing my concerns probably would mark me as public enemy number one, I realised that,” she said.

“But I didn’t expect the onslaught that I got – and the consistent, persistent amount of death threats and rape threats, not only to me, but to my children and members of my family – Jonathan included,” she then continued.

“I’ve got screenshot after screenshot after screenshot, after screenshot. In the end, I couldn’t screenshot them all because it was starting to really affect my mental health because I was just thinking, ‘Everybody hates me and everybody wants me dead, and everybody wants me to die of cancer’,” she then went on to say.

She revealed that trolls have also told her that they want her daughter to be raped. She then apologised to ITV viewers for detailing the “upsetting” threats.

Read more: Strictly 2024 celebrity line-up ‘to be announced in just days’ amid scandal: ‘Can’t wait to get started’

Strictly returns to BBC One and BBC iPlayer later this year. 

Amanda Abbington on Strictly experience - full interview

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Robert Emlyn Slater
Senior Writer