Strictly Come Dancing star Giovanni Pernice is set to reveal all about his departure from the show, with revelations insiders say will leave Amanda Abbington 'fuming'.
Strictly Come Dancing was plunged into one of the biggest scandals in its history when Giovanni Pernice was accused of bullying his celebrity partner Amanda Abbington. The Italian ballroom star, 35, had been one of the most popular dancers on the show. However, after Sherlock actress Amanda, 54, made the complaints three years ago, he quit the show and was later cleared of the most serious allegations levelled against him.
Amanda's Career Resurgence
Amanda, who claimed she was suffering from PTSD after the ordeal in which she accused Giovanni of 'unnecessary, cruel and abusive behaviour' while training for the show, took lower profile roles acting-wise in the theatre as the dust began to settle. However, now she's back with two big TV parts: one in the Channel 4 drama Hunting Alice Bell and the other in the next series of Apple TV hit Down Cemetery Road.
Her personal life is also stabilising after her fiancé, former stuntman and escapologist Jonathan Goodwin, settled his legal claim in May against the makers of America's Got Talent for an undisclosed multi-million pound payout after a horrific accident in 2021 in which he was left paralysed.
Giovanni's Bombshell Book
However, as Amanda's star is on the rise, Giovanni is also making a comeback starting with the release of a bombshell book called Taking the Lead, released on August 27, in which he's set to reveal all about his 'nightmare' with the actress, in what some have sensationally dubbed his 'revenge plan'.
Talking to the Mail, a source said to be close to the dancer, said: "Giovanni isn’t going out for violins, he isn’t like that. But the book will remind the public of the allegations, which surely won’t be helpful for Amanda when she’s reigniting her career. It’s like the ghost of Giovanni will be there, hanging over it. She’ll be fuming."
Claiming the Italian "won't hold back", the source also said Giovanni will reveal what Amanda allegedly "did to him", as they continued: "He hates that she made the complaints, he will have his say about that and will explain what she did to him, too. There is no way it won’t completely infuriate Amanda. She never wanted Gio to have his say but now he will, across about 400 pages, and there is nothing she can do about it."
The Fallout
It all kicked off between the pair in 2023 when Amanda left Strictly suddenly before claiming Giovanni had bullied her on the show. In an emotional interview with Channel 4 back in July, the actress, who was married to Hollywood star Martin Freeman, alleged she'd raised concerns about Gio's supposedly 'nasty' conduct after a mere three days of training.
Amanda shared: "I've got texts to the producer on day three going, 'This is awful, he hates me, I don't know what I'm doing wrong. I'm trying my best, I promise you." After six months of investigating Amanda's claims, BBC bosses ruled that Giovanni was not physically abusive towards her, however her complaints about verbal bullying and harassment were upheld.
Breaking his silence, a spokesman for Giovanni said the dancer was "pleased" that the review into the complaints by Amanda "has not found any evidence of threatening or abusive behaviour." The Mirror has contacted reps for Giovanni and Amanda for comment.
