Amanda Abbington claims she felt 'relief' when cancer scare meant she could quit Strictly Come Dancing
6 October 2024, 08:59 | Updated: 6 October 2024, 10:37
Amanda Abbington last night revealed her relief that a cancer scare meant she could quit Strictly Come Dancing - and training with professional dancer Giovanni Pernice.
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The actress, who pulled out of the show last year citing "personal reasons", later claimed she was subject to a "toxic environment" and "inappropriate, mean, nasty bullying".
An investigation into the actress's complaints about Pernice was launched earlier this year, with the BBC upholding "some, but not all" of the allegations made against the professional dancer in a review.
"It's been one of the worst years of my life," Abbington has said.
Now, the Sherlock star has revealed she felt "relief" after she discovered two lumps in her breast on the morning of her exit from the show.
"By my final week, on the Thursday morning, I was in the shower and I found two lumps. I'd got the all-clear after a mammogram a couple of months before," she told the Sun.
“I went in for rehearsals to do the cha-cha-cha and just couldn’t concentrate."
She claimed Giovanni said: "There’s no point teaching you this because it’s not going in.
"You can’t get it. We’ll be lucky if we get through because you’re useless".
“He refused to even look at me so I went to the toilet, came back and said, ‘I’m going to go to the hospital now because I found two lumps in my breast this morning.
“Then he was great. He said, ‘Well, let me know how it goes".
“It was the catalyst I’d been sort of waiting for, which is terrible.
“But that’s what I was thinking, that it was a healthier option than being in that room.
“I’ve championed breast cancer charities but there was a part of me that was like, ‘OK, I have to deal with this now instead. Phew’.”
Fortunately, the lumps were found to be benign.
BBC apologises to Abbington over Strictly as Pernice cleared of abuse claims
In response, a spokeswoman for Giovanni said: “The BBC concluded its review almost a week ago.
"It is deeply concerning that Ms Abbington appears to be hellbent on continuously misrepresenting the review’s findings in TV and newspaper interviews.
“Giovanni is focusing on his job on Ballando con le Stella and supporting his partner Bianca, and hopes that Ms Abbington can soon accept the review’s findings and look to the future.”
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In a lengthy interview last week, the actress told Newsnight: "I've been through a lot, women go through a lot, but it has been a very unpleasant, turbulent, relentless time in my life.
"I've had to deal with a myriad of horrible things."
The 50-year-old said in the last eight months, the number of threats she has received had "gone into the hundreds" - inlcluding one against her teenage daughter.
The Sherlock star has not ruled out taking legal action against the BBC after some of her complaints were upheld.
In August, the Metropolitan Police confirmed they were investigating after they were called to the Park Theatre in Finsbury Park to an alleged death threat sent to Abbington, who was starring in When It Happens To You.
"I had a credible death threat sent to my place of work, a theatre that I was working at, which was credible and the police had to be called," Abbington said.
"I had a bomb threat sent to my place of work, threatening to blow the building up because I was pursuing this.
"I've had death threats sent to me, my family.
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"I've had rape threats sent to my 15-year-old daughter, saying 'I'm just laughing at the moment thinking about you having to watch your daughter get raped for what you've done to Giovanni Pernice'.
"They were every day I'd be getting those and I have screenshots that have been handed over to the Met Police." Abbington said the threats had "started up again" since the publication of the BBC review on Monday.
She said she has been receiving threats including "I hope you die of cancer" and "I knew you'd get proven wrong you lying c***".
Despite the threats, Abbington said "I've got no regrets" about lodging complaints against Pernice.
"The death threats and the rape threats and the abuse I get are horrible and soul-destroying and heart-breaking," she said.
"But I do get women coming up to me in the street saying 'you're paving the way for my daughter to work in a safe environment and not feel threatened or in any way feel that they can't speak out'."
During the interview, Abbington also claimed she was not the only person to have complained about working with Pernice on the flagship show.
She said she invited the former Strictly contestants to her home because "we wanted to make sure we weren't on our own thinking this had just happened to us".
Abbington said when they first met "we all burst into tears".
Pernice has denied allegations against him.
'Unresolved'
A review published this week "upheld some, but not all, of the complaints made" against professional dancer Pernice.
Appearing on BBC Newsnight, Abbington said: "There's a 30-page report that me and my lawyers are still digesting.
"There are still things in there that are unresolved."
Abbington claimed that there was a "significant reason" that some of the allegations against Pernice were not upheld, and that her team will be "investigating that further".
When asked if she is considering bringing a lawsuit against the BBC, the 50-year-old said: "I'm taking guidance from my lawyer, who has just been so amazing throughout this whole thing.
"She's been the driving force and has helped me, because there's been times when I've just thought, is this worth it.
"I'm taking advice from her, and on a day-to-day basis."
Abbington said there had been "a lot of misinformation" following the publication of the BBC report, which appeared to diminish the seriousness of the case.
"What has been said at the moment out there is just not true," she said. "There were some very serious things that went on, and they were upheld by the BBC.
"There were breaches of all the codes of conduct within the organisation."
The BBC previously apologised to Abbington and thanked her for coming forward.
"At the time, although the production team took steps to address the issues as they understood them, ultimately these were not enough. This is why the measures we have taken to further strengthen our existing protocols are so important," the BBC said.
A spokeswoman for Pernice previously welcomed the BBC review, saying they are "pleased that this six-month review has not found any evidence of threatening or abusive behaviour by Giovanni".
