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Amanda Abbington has revealed that she received rape and death threats to her children in the aftermath of withdrawing from Strictly Come Dancing.
The Sherlock star suddenly quit Strictly five episodes into the 2023 season, citing personal reasons at the time in October. Three months later, it was reported that she had requested rehearsal footage from her time on the show amid rumours of a feud with professional dancer Giovanni Pernice.
As the long-enduring BBC series now faces the biggest scandal in its 24-year history, with multiple dancers facing misconduct allegations, Abbington has revealed the extent of the online abuse she personally faced after leaving the show last year.
Speaking to Channel 4 News on Wednesday, Abbington said the abuse had been “brutal, relentless and unforgiving” and she received dozens of threats a day towards herself and her children.
“The aftermath has been something that I wasn’t expecting. The death threats and the rape threats towards not only myself but my daughter, and the threats of death to my son,” she said.
“When you get one or two of those, you can just go ‘oh God’, you know, but I was getting dozens a day... it was just all the time.”
She added: “Having the courage to go and say something is so important and we are not cultivating that environment. We are making out that women who voice their concerns about a situation are trawled through the press, sent death threats, rape threats and not taken seriously.”
Elsewhere in the interview, Abbington said she and her lawyer are trying to access 50 hours of rehearsal room footage that was filmed during her training with Pernice, which she alleged shows her time “spent in a room that was toxic” with the Strictly professional, who has repeatedly denied any wrongdoing.
Speaking to ITV’s Lorraine on Thursday morning, Abbington said: “I do feel I have the right to say it was a toxic environment I was in when I was rehearsing because it was. It’s important that women feel they are in a safe space where they can say ‘This is inappropriate behaviour and it needs to be recognised.’”
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She added: “It was inappropriate, it was mean, it was nasty, it was bullying and I put up with it for five weeks.
“It started very early on and when it started to happen I shut down because I recognised those red flags ... It was week one, the third day. I’ve got texts to the producer on the third day saying: ‘This is awful, he hates me, I don’t know what I’m doing wrong’.”
The Independent has approached representatives of Pernice for further comment.
Asked what she would like to happen next with the show, Abbington said: “I love Strictly, I always wanted to do that show. I think it’s a beautiful British institution.”
She added: “Most people on that show are wonderful and I’ve made some good friends on that show, I don’t want it to end. I want it to have a beautiful extended life because it’s Saturday night entertainment.”
On 10 June, the BBC announced that Pernice – who has been on the show since 2015 – would not be participating in the forthcoming 2024 season. Weeks later, Graziano Di Prima was dropped from the show after his alleged mistreatment of his celebrity partner, Zara McDermott, in 2023 was made public.
Di Prima, who joined Strictly in 2018, has since admitted to kicking reality star McDermott in the rehearsal room. “There is never a time when kicking, or any sense of that, is right,” Di Prima’s spokesperson told BBC News last week. “And he knows that. He knows he’s made a mistake. He apologised at the time.”
Another Strictly complaint allegedly made by TV presenter Steve Backshall about his professional partner in 2014 Ola Jordan has also resurfaced this week.
The pair were reportedly granted a chaperone to oversee their rehearsals, with a source telling MailOnline at the time: “Steve is a very bouncy personality, up for any challenge, but Ola’s harsh treatment has flattened him and made him lose confidence.”
Former footballer Robbie Savage defended the dance professional this week, however, saying: “I danced with Ola for a year and she was a great teacher and I got on really well with her. My wife and kids liked her, she was a great teacher and wonderful to work with.”
In a statement issued on Wednesday, the BBC said it takes “duty of care extremely seriously”, adding: “Our processes on Strictly Come Dancing are updated every year, they are kept under constant review and last week we announced additional steps to further strengthen welfare and support on the show.”
