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The dancer left the show after the 2023 season



Former Strictly Come Dancing professional Giovanni Pernice has spoken about his time paired with Amanda Abbington on season 21 of the BBC show, which ended when she exited the competition and he didn't return for the following season.

In his new book Gio: Taking the Lead, which has been serialised in the MailOnline (behind a paywall), Pernice explains that he was "instantly impressed" with his celebrity partner's potential and enjoyed their shared sense of dark humour at first.

But he alleges that a pattern of behaviour soon emerged that he found strange. According to Pernice, Abbington would say positive things to his face and about him on social media but would say the opposite to others behind the scenes.

"Another celebrity on the Strictly WhatsApp group new recruits always set up to support one another confided: 'Amanda said in a group chat that she wants to quit because you are too much,'" Pernice writes.

"I was stunned. Why would she send nice, encouraging messages to me but then tell the group chat she wanted to quit?"

He further claims: "Her behaviour was often confusing. We would happily be in the middle of a routine and then, with no prompting, she would pull away and say how awful she was. She told me she had a habit of 'self-sabotaging'.

"I tried to comfort and encourage her, but I am not a therapist and I found it difficult to handle. Despite everything, when she danced that Saturday night, she was really good."

Later, Pernice states that although their rehearsals were physically and mentally demanding, their "numerous WhatsApps to one another felt consistently positive" – with a reported dialogue about wanting to be pushed harder. Meanwhile, Pernice writes that Abbington denied claims of a complaint made to the BBC on social media.

He then claims that after Abbington was taken to hospital due to concerns about lumps, she asked to change partners and departed Strictly after she was told she couldn't.

Although Pernice thought things had ended there, stories in the press started to appear after the season 21 finale. In 2024, an official investigation launched into complaints of bullying made against him meant that Pernice wouldn't return for the next season.

At the time, he released a statement via Instagram, saying that he "reject[s] any suggestion of abusive or threatening behaviour".

In his book, Pernice claims that the situation led him to a deep depression, so much so that he considered suicide.

"Hunched on the sofa of my London flat, I scrolled through my phone as story after story brought bad news, plunging me deeper into depression," an excerpt reads.

"Is it worth it? I asked myself. What would happen if I wasn't here any more? Who would care? Tomorrow, I pledged, I would end it all. My life was over and the emotional pain was becoming unbearable."

Pernice credits his then-girlfriend Molly Brown with helping him get through his darkest time, writing: "There were certainly times I would have killed myself if Molly hadn't been there."

Last week, Abbington was reported to have received "a five-figure settlement" and apology from the BBC after "some but not all" of her complaints were upheld (via The Guardian). She has not responded publicly to Pernice's new claims.

https://www.digitalspy.com/tv/reality-tv/a73500831/strictly-giovanni-pernice-amanda-abbington-confusing-depressed/