Former Strictly Come Dancing professional Giovanni Pernice has claimed the fallout from Amanda Abbington's bullying allegations left him with suicidal thoughts, in extracts from his memoir serialised in the Daily Mail, reigniting one of the BBC's bitterest recent scandals.
Pernice, 35, described reading negative stories while alone at his London home: "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." He recalled questioning whether he should continue living: "Is it worth it? I asked myself. What would happen if I wasn't here any more? Who would care?" He wrote: "Tomorrow, I pledged, I would end it all. My life was over, and the emotional pain was becoming unbearable."
The dancer partnered the Sherlock actress, 53, on the 2023 series of Strictly. Abbington left the competition in week five, citing personal and medical reasons, and later publicly accused Pernice of "unnecessary, abusive, cruel and mean" behaviour during rehearsals, saying she had experienced PTSD.
The BBC investigated 16 complaints against Pernice, upholding six and clearing him of 10 of the most serious accusations. The broadcaster apologised to Abbington, and she later received a five-figure out-of-court settlement from BBC Studios, which also contributed towards her legal costs. Pernice welcomed the conclusion of the review and fiercely denied claims of threatening or abusive behaviour.
In response to the memoir, Taking The Lead, Abbington told The Sun: "It's sad, though not surprising, that Giovanni is continuing down this route. He took part in the BBC investigation that made findings against him, following which the channel paid me compensation. He is grossly mischaracterising what happened to suit his own narrative, but I have no interest in engaging with that. My focus is on moving forward." A friend of the actress added that Abbington "will forever regard Giovanni as a monster" and stood by her allegations.
Pernice, speaking on ITV's This Morning in September, insisted he had "no hard feelings" towards Abbington: "Honestly, I haven't got any bad feeling towards Amanda. I think she wants to move forward, I have moved forward a long time ago." He said he had "moved on", having won the Italian version of Strictly in 2024 with his now-girlfriend Bianca Guaccero.
Fellow 2023 contestant Angela Rippon told the At Home with Vanessa podcast she had witnessed the tension first-hand: "I think we were all aware of the tension between the two of them, it's no point saying that we weren't because we all were." The scandal prompted the BBC to introduce chaperones in rehearsal rooms and remains a reference point for duty-of-care debates in British reality television.