Strictly Come Dancing judge Shirley Ballas has urged everyone to “move on” from the probe against Giovanni Pernice’s conduct after Amanda Abbington claimed she was “abused” and “bullied” by the dancer.
Earlier this year, the BBC launched an investigation into the behaviour and conduct of Pernice which left the star to step down from his role on the BBC dancing competition.
At the beginning of this week, the BBC finally released its findings and out of 17 allegations, the BBC upheld six, some of which are for Pernice using swear words and that his language could be “belittling”.
The BBC also agreed with Amanda that at times he appeared to be giving her overly negative feedback, with the former Sherlock star believing there is a “significant” reason why she thinks other allegations she made were not upheld.
Despite the ongoing chatter surrounding Pernice and the way he treated Abbington, he has continued to receive the support fro those who still work on the series – including head judge Balls.
The 64-year-old has been seen with Pernice on many occasions, accompanying the star during his dance classes and showing her support through her social media.
Now, she has spoken out on the decision from the BBC and has once again assured her fans she does not “condone bullying” and feels everyone should “move on” from the past year.
Speaking at a book event on Tuesday evening, the Daily Mail reported: “I don’t condone bullying I’ve been through it myself. So if things aren’t right or need addressing, I feel for the person who wants them addressed.
“And I think that’s a big, important part that everybody gets to say their thing. But now the investigation is over and everybody can move on. The eight years I’ve been on the show, it’s been great safeguarding. I’ve always felt taken care of when the bullying got really bad.”
When the news of the investigation was released, Pernice quickly issued a statement through his spokesperson which read: “We are pleased that this six-month review has not found any evidence of threatening or abusive behaviour by Giovanni.
“Giovanni is relieved that the overwhelming majority of allegations out to the BBC have not been upheld and looks forward to continuing his work on Dancing With The Stars in Italy this season”.
Abbington is reported to be considering taking further action against the BBC as she spoke out about the investigation results during an interview on Newsnight on Wednesday.
The Sherlock actress revealed she held a meeting with other Strictly Come Dancing contestants in her own home to swap stories of treatment on the show, adding they all wept as they spoke of their experiences with Pernice.
Speaking to Victoria Derbyshire, Abbington claimed that she was subjected to abuse from Pernice away from the cameras and claimed there was “ongoing litany of being verbally abused” by Pernice and a 35-minute “rant” at her, including name-calling.
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“There were pockets of time where we got on and it was ok, which was wrong-footing for me because when you’re in that room you never knew where you were from one minute to the next and it can make you shut down. I shut down in that room and I was called ‘mad’ and ‘unstable’.”
Speaking about two situations which left her distressed, the former Sherlock star added: “There were two allegations of inappropriate conduct of a sexual nature. They were upheld and one of them was physical and one was verbal.
“I think the cameras went in quite soon after that. This wasn’t an isolated incident and I know it had happened before to other contestants.”
