“The most important thing is to accept what the result is and move on with our lives because otherwise we’re going to end up in a circle that’s never going to finish”
On today’s Lorraine, Giovanni Pernice spoke exclusively in his first television interview about the BBC investigation into allegations made by Amanda Abbington during their time as partners on Strictly Come Dancing.
Explaining why he wants to ‘have his side of the story heard now’, Giovanni explained: “I think it’s the right time to do so because as you said, it’s been a year of difficulty.
“It’s been difficult to read every day in the newspaper things that were simply not true and not be able to talk because both of us, both of the parties really were asked to maintain the confidentiality of the process. I wanted to keep professional [and] finally the results are out and I’m able to talk about what happened… and put the record straight when it comes [to] my side of the story.”
On the findings, Giovanni added: “The results are out there, in terms of we’ve both got the results. It’s important because from my point of view, I’m relieved [about] the fact that the most serious allegations were thrown out. Yes, six [have] been upheld but 11 haven’t been upheld and again, the most serious were not.”
Giovanni said: “The other allegation was me being frustrated, which I recognise… This is one of the six that was upheld, the behaviour…”
Adding: “You know how difficult it is to learn a new dance each week. Dancing is difficult. Dancing it’s a new thing… So, I get frustrated, the celebrity gets frustrated, and trust me when I say every single person on Strictly Come Dancing or Dancing with the Stars, in the world would get frustrated because you feel the pressure… You want to perform perfectly on the Saturday night. So, frustration is something that when you want to be good, it happens.”
He continued: “I do care about my job and when you have somebody in your hands like Amanda, which in my opinion she was brilliant. She was unbelievable at dancing, it’s normal that I tried to get the best out of my partner. In my opinion, I’m a bit upset because we couldn’t make it all the way to the final. So, my job is to try to take everything out of my partner and Amanda was one of those that… ‘wow’.”
Describing his teaching style, Giovanni said: “It’s actually in the public domain that I’m a strict teacher, I recognise that myself. I’ve been on the show for nine years, which means you know exactly who Giovanni is and the way he teaches. So, in that time if you want to achieve greatness, I think this is the right way to do it.”
He then went on to say that he thought they were “fine” and that Amanda had told him “Giovanni, you are an amazing teacher”. He said there had “never been sort of a difficulty of, ‘Please don't say this to me.’”
Giovanni said: “First of all, the investigation didn’t say I was a bully. Which is exactly why I feel relieved now and it’s important to put that straight because bully is a big word… and there’s a difference between being a bully and caring about what you do. Again, it’s very different.”
Asked what his take is on Amanda’s bullying complaints and environment in the rehearsal room, Giovanni said that he felt they had ended on good terms and said his last text messages were positive:
“The last message that I had with Amanda was ‘Please let me know how the scan goes. I want to help you.’ The last message I sent to her [said] ‘I will find you a doctor. Please, let’s sort this out because this is more important than any steps.’ This was the last conversation and last message with Amanda.”
During the interview, Giovanni said: “I’m glad eleven allegations have been thrown [out], at the beginning there were very serious allegations, threatening her and abusing her, and all of this has been taken out, which is the most important thing.”
Discussing the BBC apology to Amanda, Giovanni said: “If they felt that way, it’s their decision but I agree with the BBC that it’s good Amanda came forward to talk about something that [inaudible] happened. It’s important that if you don’t feel right, it’s important that you talk to somebody and I’m glad that she did. I’m glad that Amanda came forward.”
Giovanni added: “I was actually glad when the whole thing finished, yes it took longer than it should have [taken] but I’m glad that we have a report that says what isn’t there. I’m not against the fact that the investigation started in the first place because everybody, if they’ve got problems, they should go and talk to production in this case. Because I thought she did the right thing and I’m glad that the investigation is finished and we got a result.”
Before the end of the interview, he said: “There is so much that’s not true in these things and again, the report is there. We both have a report, we both have results. The most important thing is to accept what the results are and move on with our lives because otherwise we’re going to end up in a circle that’s never going to finish.”
Asked if he will return to the UK’s Strictly Come Dancing, Giovanni responded:
“I think I am just very very focused on dancing in Italy… Who knows? Never say never.”
Amanda Abbington’s lawyer gave an exclusive statement to Lorraine:
“Mr Pernice's claim that "everything in the rehearsal room worked perfectly" is false and delusional, and underlines the toxic culture Ms Abbington endured on Strictly Come Dancing. The BBC's own investigation concluded that Mr Pernice was in breach of multiple BBC Policies, including repeated breaches of the Anti- Bullying and Harassment Policy. Mr Pernice was spoken to by the BBC on several occasions about his misconduct - but his behaviour only continued.”
Christine also shared a response from the BBC:
“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.”
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