AMANDA Abbington’s concerned parents have admitted they would ‘feel sorry’ for Giovanni Pernice, if it wasn’t their daughter at the centre of the scandal.
The Sherlock actress, 50, claims she was as subjected to “inappropriate, mean, nasty bullying” in a “toxic environment” while rehearsing for the BBC One show.
Her former professional partner, Giovanni – who has left the celebrity dance programme, has strongly refuted her allegations.
Speaking about the ongoing situation, Amanda’s dad told the Mail: “I’d feel sorry for him if Amanda wasn’t the one involved in this. Like other dancers on Strictly he was put in a situation where he was expected to train people when he’d not been taught how to train.
“They were let out of dance school at a young age. Giovanni started at Strictly at 21 or 22. How on earth can you train people when you’ve not been trained to do that?”
He wife Patsy added: “We just want it dealt with.”
The pair went on to reveal the toll the situation has taken on them – leaving them racked with worry.
He said: “As soon as I wake up in the mornings and when I go to bed at night I am worrying about it. It’s the after effects I worry about too. Will she be able to carry on with her career?”
Amanda’s mum added that their daughter had apologised to them for putting them through it all too.
The star opened up about her ordeal this week on ITV news, recalling: She said the issues began early on, and despite raising them several times, they would re-occur.
“We’d have a meeting and there would be an apology (from Giovanni), I’d accept the apology, we would come to an understanding, then we’d go into the live show and that would be fine.. in the room with producers,” she said.
“And then on the Monday would be fine and then it would again just by the Thursday, it would be unworkable again.”
In an interview with her former Strictly co-star, Krishnan Guru-Murthy, for Channel 4 News on Wednesday, she claimed there are 50 hours of video footage – from cameras she alleges were installed after she raised concerns during her first week – which Pernice “doesn’t want anyone to see” but have been reviewed by the BBC.
The actress claimed producers were “shocked and horrified” after they viewed her training films, but said she is unable to provide more detail because of the ongoing BBC review of her complaint.
Last night The Sun told Giovanni has “bombshell” recorded audio in which Amanda apologises to him for being a “nightmare”.
In a highly charged exchange, she acknowledges she can be hard to work with and essentially thanks Giovanni for “putting up with her”.
The exchange lasts for around six and a half minutes, and is thought to have been recorded as part of rehearsal footage by the BBC.
Pernice, 33, believes this, alongside other messages, will clear his name.
Strictly Come Dancing's scandal has been growing over the past few months, with several major players speaking out about what went on. Here are the key moments of what's happened so far
16th May: Giovanni Pernice sensationally quits Strictly Come Dancing after nine years on the show.
17th May: Giovanni becomes the centre of an official investigation after three former partners – believed to be Amanda Abbington, Laura Whitmore and Ranvir Singh – make complaints to the BBC.
16th June: Giovanni releases an official statement vowing to clear his name and denies any wrongdoing.
8th July: Strictly confirms Aljaz Skorjanec will return to the series, replacing Giovanni, after initially quitting the show two years ago.
10th July: Amanda Abbington launches fresh legal proceedings to get the rehearsal footage from her time with Giovanni, after allegedly he refused to release the videos.
13th July: Graziano Di Prima is axed from Strictly for “gross misconduct” after footage of his treatment of Zara McDermott is brought to the attention of the BBC.
Graziano quickly broke his silence, apologising for his behaviour in a statement and saying he “deeply regrets it”, adding his “intense passion and determination to win might have affected his training regime.”
15th July: Strictly bosses implement new duty of care protocols, including having a chaperone present throughout all rehearsals.
16th July: Zara McDermott speaks out publicly for first time. She states while the production team were “amazing to work with”, she found the rehearsal room “completely different”, confirming there’s footage of “certain situations”.
19th July: Anton Du Beke is put under the spotlight for his “1970s attitude” and treatment of female celeb stars, particularly after allegedly referring to 2009 partner Laila Rouass as a “p***” after getting a spray tan.
21st July: Paralympian Will Bayley, who has limb condition arthrogryposis, revealed he was encouraged to leap from a table during a dance routine, despite fears. The stunt caused an injury that forced him to withdraw from the show.
22nd July: MasterChef’s Gregg Wallace admits he broke down in tears and got a nasty stress rash on his face during his time on Strictly in 2014.
23rd July: Celebrity agent Melanie Blake claims she was sexually assaulted by an unnamed pro dancer while backstage on the show, and claims she witnessed ageism, rudeness and a rough treatment to the point of injury.
23rd July: BBC boss Tim Davie breaks his silence on the ongoing allegations against Strictly, saying he is ‘deeply sorry’, adding: “Hundreds of people, be they pros, contestants or crew have been part of it and had a brilliant experience.
“At the same time if someone thinks there was something wrong or they want to talk about their experience then of course we want them to raise that with us. Be in no doubt we will take it seriously, listen and deal with it as appropriate.”
