What we know about the BBC’s Strictly verdict investigating Giovanni Pernice and Amanda Abbington

The BBC has apologized to former Strictly Come Dancing contestant Amanda Abbington following the Giovanni Pernice investigation, but only part of her complaint was upheld.

Pernice was at the center of an internal BBC investigation into “serious workplace misconduct” after Abbington left Strictly early last year, and later claimed she was bullied by the professional dancer. The dancer, who first appeared on the BBC show in 2015, has always denied “any suggestion of abusive or threatening behavior” and vowed to clear his name. He left the show before the 2024 series and was a professional on the show for nine years.

The BBC reported that Pernice was cleared of the most serious charges and that claims of physical aggression were not confirmed. The complaints of verbal bullying and harassment were upheld, the BBC reported.

Abbington said the apology meant “a lot” to her while also addressing the threats she has received since disclosing it. Meanwhile, a spokesman for Pernice told the BBC he was “pleased” that the review found “no evidence of threatening or abusive behavior” from him. After leaving Strictly, the dancer has now become a professional dancer on Italian talent dance show Ballando con le Stelle.

What we know

BBC closes investigation into Giovanni Pernice

At the conclusion of the investigation, the BBC said it had upheld “some, but not all” of their complaints about Giovanni Pernice’s behavior during her time on the show.

The BBC said in a statement: “The BBC has now completed its review of Amanda Abbington’s complaints against Giovanni Pernice. We take all allegations of bullying and harassment very seriously and this review has taken time due to its complexity and our desire to ensure a rigorous and robust process was undertaken.

“Strictly Come Dancing is a family show and we rightly expect very high standards. While the competition can be tough, rigorous and demanding, we ultimately want the show to be a joyful and transformative experience. It will be a great shame if this is not the case.” This applies to everyone who appeared on the show.

“We have reviewed the complaints and upheld some, but not all, of the complaints submitted. We would like to apologize and thank Amanda Abbington for coming forward and participating. We know this wouldn’t have been easy.” Do.

“Although the production team took steps at the time to address the issues as they understood them, these ultimately were not enough. That’s why the actions we’ve taken to further strengthen our existing protocols are so important.”

“The BBC heard from a number of people when producing its findings. We would like to thank you for your participation. The BBC has already taken significant steps to improve our duty of care for everyone on the show and a full description of those steps is published alongside this statement.”

Amanda Abbington breaks her silence on the BBC findings

Following the conclusion, Abbington thanked the BBC for its apology and said it “meant a lot” to her. The actress addressed the rape, murder and bomb threats she received as a result of her statement and complaint.

Abbington’s full statement said: “As the BBC indicated in its statement today, the decision to come forward and complain about Giovanni Pernice’s behavior towards me was not an easy one for me.”

“In the days, weeks and months since I contacted the BBC, I have been accused of being a liar, a troublemaker and ‘crazy and unstable’. I have also received rape and death threats and a bomb threat has been sent out.” My family and children have also been subjected to threats and intimidation.

“Despite this vile insult, I have never regretted coming forward and the BBC’s apology today is a vindication of my complaint. It’s not just a vindication for me, but a vindication for the other people who have contacted me since I made my complaint.” I hope that those who felt unable to speak out now feel more confident are that they are listened to and believed.

“The BBC have invited me to a meeting with management and I will now think about that. This apology means a lot to me. As well as the fact that the BBC acknowledged the steps taken to support and assist.” Protecting myself and previous participants was “not enough”, what is most important now is that lessons have been learned and that the BBC has the “I am making promised changes to ensure that others do not experience the same ordeal as me and others like me.”

What we don’t know

Details of the complaint

Charlotte Moore, the BBC’s chief content officer, said she was unable to elaborate on the complaints.

Moore told the BBC: “There have been a number of complaints under our bullying and harassment policy and some of those complaints have been upheld. Not all, but some were approved.”

“I can’t go into that, and there are very good reasons for that. It is probably worth me just setting out the confidentiality of a grievance procedure, which I believe is an absolute part of the grievance process and confidentiality must be respected out of fairness to all involved.

“But of course we also try to balance this with a desire to be open and transparent about the way our complaints processes work – and obviously there has been a lot of media speculation and interest in this case. So I think it’s really important that we be as open and transparent as possible about this process, which is why we made the statement.”