The BBC has apologised to Amanda Abbington and upheld some of her complaints against her 2023 Strictly dance partner Giovanni Pernice, but cleared him of the most serious allegations.
While complaints of verbal bullying and harassment were upheld, claims of physical aggression were not, BBC News understands.
The BBC has now concluded its review into the complaints made by Amanda Abbington against Giovanni Pernice. We take any allegations of bullying and harassment very seriously and this review has taken time due to its complex nature 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 competition can be tough, rigorous and demanding, we want the show to ultimately be a joyous and transformative experience. It is a great shame if this hasn’t been the case for everyone who has appeared on the show.
We have assessed the complaints and we have upheld some, but not all, of the complaints made. We want to apologise to Amanda Abbington and to thank her for coming forward and taking part. We know this would not have been an easy thing to do.
A BBC spokesperson clarified: “We have nothing to announce, and we have not agreed next steps with regard to his contract. He is on contract until the end of the season.”
Deadline has published a feature interview with Kylie Washington, BBC Studios ANZ General Manager and Creative Director of Production.
Well then…
…the fee will return to rising in line with the CPI measure of inflation until the end of the charter period in 2027.
The Aardman characters return to BBC One’s Christmas idents after 3 years:
