‘Strictly Come Dancing’ Star Giovanni Pernice Felt Suicidal After Being Dropped By BBC Over Amanda Abbington Complaint: “They Hung Me Out To Dry”
Giovanni PerniceBBC
Professional dancer Giovanni Pernice has vented his fury at the BBC over its handling of his Strictly Come Dancing exit following a clash with Sherlock star Amanda Abbington.
In an interview with The Daily Telegraph, Pernice said he was left feeling suicidal after being “hung out to dry” by the BBC, arguing that the broadcaster’s duty of care did not extend to him.
Pernice has not appeared on Strictly (the format on which Dancing with the Stars is based) since 2023, when he clashed with dance partner Abbington, who later filed a complaint.
Abbington alleged that her Italian dance partner was “nasty” and accused him of inappropriate bullying behavior during her five weeks on Strictly.
The BBC’s subsequent investigation partially upheld some of her concerns, though the corporation was never specific about the nature of the allegations it deemed credible. The BBC apologized to Abbington for her experience on Strictly, which remains one of the UK’s most-watched shows.
“I feel they hung me out to dry to cover their backs. I was devastated by that,” Pernice said in an excerpt from his memoir, Gio: Taking the Lead, published by The Telegraph.
He added that BBC’s apology “made it seem like all of the stories in the newspaper[s] were real, when most of them had been found to be totally untrue. Her claims had ruined my life and my career. Where was my apology?”
He told The Telegraph: “I had made concerted efforts to be positive and supportive to Amanda, in both the training room and our text conversations.” He claimed that most of the upheld complaints related to him swearing: “They found that I threw my arms up and said ‘f***’ on one occasion.”
Pernice said he should never have been paired with Abbington. “I’m a taskmaster,” he said. “But I know that I can take you to the final, and that I can take you to win the show – if you want to be pushed.”
Pernice found himself “spiralling mentally” following the controversy. “I’m a very work-oriented person,” he said. “I really dedicate my life to work. It wasn’t even the financial [side]. It’s more, I have to do something. I always wanted to be something.
“I was thinking, ‘There’s no place for me any more in this industry. So what’s the point?’ That’s when I thought, ‘Well, let’s end this. There’s no point. Let’s end it. I’m never going to have back what I had.’”
On the BBC’s response, he added: “They didn’t look after me. ‘Well, you’re not contracted with us, your contract finished in December.’ Yeah, but I’ve been with you for nine years, so you can look after me. If I’m sending an email saying that I’ve got myocarditis and depression, you can’t even reply to me and say, ‘Oh, sorry if you feel a bit down’?”
The BBC has been approached for comment.
