Giovanni Pernice “rejects any claim” he was “threatening or abusive” towards Amanda Abbington during their ‘Strictly Come Dancing’ rehearsals.
Giovanni Pernice ‘rejects any claim’ he was ‘threatening or abusive’ towards Amanda Abbington during their ‘Strictly Come Dancing’ rehearsals
The professional dancer, 33, who left the BBC ballroom show over the allegations, added he had never threatened the actress, 50, after she said in a round of Press interviews she had been subjected to “humiliating behaviour” of a “sexual nature” while making the series – while stressing she was not claiming to have been a victim of sexual harassment.
In a statement issued to ITV, Giovanni’s lawyers said about the ongoing BBC probe into the claims: “We would urge people to wait for the review’s conclusion and not to pay heed to very serious and defamatory allegations that have no evidence in support of them.
“Giovanni rejects any claim of threatening or abusive behaviour, and having provided the BBC with his evidence, is confident that the review will prove this.”
The lawyers added Giovanni was “cooperating fully” with the BBC’s review and added “all parties” have been “asked to respect this process and to not speak to the media before it concludes”.
They concluded: “As part of the evidence-led review, the BBC has shared the allegations it has been able to substantiate with us. They do not resemble Amanda’s latest allegations, given to ITV, in any shape or form.”
‘Sherlock’ actress Amanda had told Channel 4 there are 50 hours of rehearsal room footage exposing the alleged toxic atmosphere behind the scenes of ‘Strictly’ – which she said was being “blocked” during the BBC’s investigation.
She added on ITV’s ‘Lorraine’ show she had texted a ‘Strictly’ producer in her first week of rehearsals about Giovanni to say: “This is awful. He hates me.”
Tagged in Amanda Abbington