Giovanni Pernice was at the centre of several damning allegations regarding his training methods on Strictly Come Dancing (Picture: PA)
The BBC has committed to tackling ‘abusive behaviour’ head-on following controversy around Strictly Come Dancing after several complaints were filed against professional dancers.
Following 20 series on air, the hit dance show became engulfed in scandal earlier this year when Amanda Abbington, 50, made a series of damning allegations against her former pro partner, Giovanni Pernice, 34.
A probe was then launched, with Giovanni let go from the line-up as well as Graziano Di Prima after he was accused of kicking Love Island’s Zara McDermott during training.
Both Italian dancers denied the accusations made, with a lengthy internal investigation concluding last week and upholding several complaints against Giovanni, but clearing him of the most serious ‘physical aggression’ allegations.
In light of the publication of the findings, after which Giovanni thanked fans for their support, the BBC has today launched a probe into its ‘workplace culture’.
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It also comes after the likes of Laura Whitmore and Ranvir Singh complained about Giovanni’s training methods, while the BBC was also thrown into crisis last year when former newsreader Huw Edwards admitted possessing indecent images of children.
Amanda Abbington accused him of ‘bullying’ (Picture: PA)
Former BBC newsreader Huw Edwards pleaded guilty to offences involving child abuse images (Picture: Metropolitan Police/AFP via Getty Images)
Vowing to crack down on ‘abuse of power’, BBC Chair Samir Shah said: ‘I cannot emphasise enough that I am fully committed to tackling inappropriate or abusive behaviour.
‘For most of us, it is a joy to work for the BBC, and that should be the case for everyone.
‘Nobody working in the BBC should ever feel fear or worry while working here.
‘What is clear to me is that we must ensure the BBC is a safe, secure, and welcoming workplace for everyone.’
The BBC’s inquiry strives to ‘ensure the consequences of inappropriate behaviour and abuse of power are understood by everyone’.
A report is expected to be published next spring.
After months of investigating and reviewing hundreds of hours of training footage, the BBC found earlier this month that six out of 17 complaints against Giovanni were to be upheld.
The actress has said the show left her with PTSD (Picture: Channel 4)
The likes of Anton Du Beke have been publicly supportive of Giovanni (Picture: Ken McKay/ITV/REX/Shutterstock)
These included swearing at Amanda and using ‘belittling’ language during his feedback.
Additionally, the report found that there were two instances of ‘inappropriate behaviour of sexual banter in the workplace’.
Despite the …read more
Source:: Metro
