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 and left the show nine years later, has always denied “any suggestion of abusive or threatening behavior”.

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

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, Pernice is now 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 to do.”

For the 20th anniversary series, Strictly has introduced new measures, including chaperones in rehearsal rooms. The BBC added: “Although the production team took steps at the time to address the issues as they understood them, these were ultimately 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.”

Giovanni Pernice comments on the BBC findings

Pernice has broken his silence and said he was “relieved” after the BBC published its findings. The professional dancer is also looking forward to working on the Italian show “Dancing With The Stars” in the future.

A representative for Pernice said in a statement: “We are pleased that this six-month review found no evidence of threatening or abusive behavior by Giovanni.”

“Gio is relieved that the vast majority of allegations made to the BBC have not been confirmed and looks forward to continuing his work on Dancing With The Stars in Italy this season.”

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 have now felt unable to voice their opinion are more confident that they will be listened to and believed.

Abbington said she was pleased that the BBC had taken further action regarding Strictly and she felt “lessons have been learned”. She added: “The BBC have invited me to a meeting with senior management and I will now think about that. This apology means a lot to me. As is the fact that the BBC has acknowledged the steps taken.” Supporting and protecting me and previous participants was “not enough”. What matters most now is that lessons have been learned and that the BBC makes the changes promised to ensure that others do not experience the same ordeal as I did and others like me did.

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 a number of those complaints have been upheld. Not all, but some were approved.”

MailOnline reported that 17 allegations were made against Pernice, six of which were confirmed and some of which included swear words.

The BBC’s chief content officer said there were “good reasons” for the BBC not to reveal further details of the investigation, but noted that it wanted to be “open and transparent” about its findings.

She added: “I can’t elaborate on that and there are very good reasons for that. It’s probably worth simply setting out the confidentiality of a grievance process, which I believe is an absolute part of the grievance process.” In the interests of fairness to all involved, confidentiality must be maintained.

“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.”

What will Laura Whitmore and Ranvir Singh do next?

We also don’t know whether Laura Whitmore and Ranvir Singh will comment on the BBC’s findings. In March this year, Abbington was said to have met with Pernice’s other former partners Whitmore and Singh to discuss their Strictly experiences. There were even rumors that they were planning legal action.

Of the trio, Abbington was the only person to come forward and make an official complaint to the BBC. Whitmore later spoke out on social media, saying she had been asked to speak to the BBC along with six other people about “inappropriate behavior they experienced towards the same person, similar to me.”

Neither Whitmore nor Singh made formal complaints to the BBC.