Amanda Abbington has claimed 'Strictly Come Dancing' producers apologised to her weekly after being "shocked and horrified" by rehearsal footage.
Amanda Abbington complained about her time on Strictly Come Dancing
The 'Sherlock' actress has made a formal complaint after accusing her dance partner Giovanni Pernice of abusive behaviour and she's revealed her legal team have been "blocked" from viewing 50 hours worth of clips from their training sessions, which were reviewed weekly by show bosses after she made an initial objection to her alleged treatment at the hands of the professional.
Speaking to Krishnan Guru-Murthy on 'Channel 4 News', she said: ”There's 50 hours of footage that's being blocked. You know, 50 hours is a lot of footage, and a lot of time spent in a room that was toxic.
“So in the first week, I raised my concerns to the producers. Giovanni said that he asked for the cameras, he didn't ask for the cameras, I know that he didn't ask for the cameras, because the producers came to me and said, ‘we're going to put in cameras so we can view the footage at the end of the week and make an assessment and see what's going on’.
“And then every Friday, after the next sort of five weeks, I would get the producer saying, on the Friday, ‘we just watched the footage back, we are shocked and horrified, we're so sorry’. That was to my face on the Friday when we would go in and do the camera rehearsal.
“It’s out there. There is evidence out there of what happened in that room and I'm not the one who's blocking it. I've said anyone can watch it, but he (Giovanni) doesn't want anyone to see it, which is quite telling if he’s got nothing to hide.”
Asked if she meant bullying behaviour, she said: “Yes, it’s bullying and it’s aggressive behaviour, there were other things that were very upsetting, that you manage in the room at the time, because you're a woman, and you have to manage those things because otherwise, what do you do?”
Amanda insisted she doesn't want to "bring down" the show and "envies" the contestants who can only speak highly of their experiences.
She said: "I read an article saying, ‘Amanda wants to bring down Strictly’. No, I love Strictly, I would love to have had a beautiful experience on it. I really would. I'm envious of the people who had a wonderful experience on that show, I'm so glad they did, and I feel really sad that I didn't get to fulfil my journey.”
And Amanda - who withdrew from the programme after five weeks - denied she had "snubbed" the show by refusing to return for the final, insisting she was never asked to join the previous contestants on the last show.
She said: “I was never asked back to the final, and I read a headline saying I snubbed the final. I didn't snub a final. Nobody ever contacted me again to be back in that show. Not that I probably would have been able to go back.
“But the idea that I snubbed it because I've made some wonderful friends on that show, and the people, contestants and some of the other dancers were just joyful. I didn't snub anybody. I left that show with my head held high.”
A BBC spokesperson denied to comment on the actress' interview.
A representative said: “Anyone involved in a complaint has a right to confidentiality and fair process and therefore it would be inappropriate to comment further on individuals. However, when issues are raised with us we always take them extremely seriously and have appropriate processes in place to manage this. As we have said before, we would urge people not to indulge in speculation.
“More generally, the BBC and BBC Studios takes duty of care extremely seriously. Our processes on Strictly Come Dancing are updated every year, they are kept under constant review and last week we announced additional steps to further strengthen welfare and support on the show.“
Giovanni's representative said they cannot comment due to the current review taking place.
They added: “As part of the evidence-led review, the BBC has shared the allegations they have been able to substantiate with us. They do not resemble Amanda’s latest allegations, given to Channel 4, in any shape or form. 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.”
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