The results of the investigation have finally been announced (Picture: Rex Features/Shutterstock)
The verdict of the investigation into former Strictly Come Dancing professional dancer Giovanni Pernice’s behaviour with Amanda Abbington has been confirmed by the BBC.
The BBC has issued an apology to Abbington and upheld some of her complaints against Pernice, but cleared him of the most serious allegations.
In a statement, the corporation said it takes allegations of bullying and harassment ‘very seriously’ and that the review into Abbington’s complaints took time because of their complexity, and for ‘a rigorous and robust process’.
‘We have assessed the complaints and we have upheld some, but not all, of the complaints made,’ the statement read.
‘We want to apologise to Amanda Abbington and to thank her for coming forward and taking part. We know this would not have been an easy thing to do.’
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The statement added that the BBC production team did take steps to address issues at the time, but, ‘ultimately, these were not enough’.
New measures have since been introduced for Strictly stars, including chaperones present during training.
In August, it was claimed that Abbington had ‘handed in more bombshell messages’ to the BBC for the broadcaster’s probe, with sources claiming that Pernice was ‘on the brink of being cleared’ before the messages were provided.
Pernice, 33, has since made a TV return on the Italian Dancing with the Stars, previously announcing to his followers on Instagram: ‘I can’t wait to get started and to get back to dancing for all of you! Thank you for all of your continued support!’
Prior to the results of the enquiry being revealed, Abbington took part in a bombshell interview with Channel 4 presenter Krishnan Guru-Murthy, who competed on the same series with her last year.
During their conversation, the Sherlock star claimed that she recognised ‘red flags’ in Pernice ‘very early on’ when they started training together for the competition, describing his behaviour as ‘inappropriate, mean, nasty and bullying’.
The actress broke down in tears as she recalled her experience to Channel 4’s Krishnan Guru-Murthy (Picture: Channel 4)
Guru-Murthy, 54, claimed that he heard from ‘someone else’ that the dancer exhibited ‘humiliating behaviour of a sexual nature’, to which Abbington nodded, wiped away tears and replied: ‘Yeah.’
Abbington, 50, alleged that ‘50 hours of footage’ from her rehearsals with Pernice were ‘being blocked’, adding: ‘50 hours is a lot of footage, and a lot of time spent in a room that was toxic.’
In response to the actress’ interview, a spokesperson for …read more
Source:: Metro
