Amanda Abbington 'terrified' to share new details on 'tough' experience with Strictly's Giovanni Pernice

Amanda Abbington has said she is "terrified of speaking out," about her experience on Strictly Come Dancing with Giovanni Pernice.

In a new interview published by The Sunday Times, the Sherlock star has opened up about her "tough" and "horrible" experience on the BBC show, which resulted in her quitting the competition weeks into the 2023 series.

The Sherlock star's shock exit was cited as 'medical reasons' at the time. Though speculation soon swirled that she had clashed with dance partner and former Strictly champion, Giovanni Pernice, who has since been cut from the upcoming 2024 series.

The mother-of-two, who shares Joe, 18, and Grace, 16, with her Sherlock co-star and ex-husband Martin Freeman, accused Giovanni of inappropriate, bullying behaviour. She lodged a complaint about his misconduct to the BBC, along with two other unnamed contestants previously paired with the Italian dancer.

"I feel very vulnerable but, at the same time, I feel very emboldened to make a change," she told the publication. "I’m stronger than I thought I was. I could quite easily have just buried my head in the sand and not said anything. But I didn’t."

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The Italian dancer is being investigated for "serious workplace misconduct" amid the claims from his former dance partner, though he has been quick to deny any allegations on social media.

In a statement in May, he told his Instagram followers: "To my dear fans, You will be as surprised as I am that allegations have been made about my dance teaching methods in the media this week. Of course, I reject any suggestion of abusive or threatening behaviour, and I look forward to clearing my name."

Amid the ongoing investigation into Giovanni's behaviour, Amanda left social media due to being viciously trolled for speaking out about her experience.

In tears, she added: "It’s been awful, just relentless. Death threats and rape threats for just standing up for something that I thought was wrong."

Giovanni's exit from the show comes as fellow professional dancer Graziano Di Prima was also made to hang up his dancing shoes due to misconduct allegations over his "training regime".

In a statement following his dismissal, the Italian professional dancer said: "I deeply regret the events that led to my departure from Strictly. My intense passion and determination to win might have affected my training regime. Respecting the BBC HR process, I understand it's best for the show that I step away."