Amanda Abbington questioned by BBC for second time over claims Giovanni Pernice made ‘crude remarks’

Amanda Abbington has reportedly been questioned for a second time by BBC – this time regarding alleged ‘crude’ remarks made by Giovanni Pernice.

The 50-year-old actress is said to have taken part in a video call last week, in which two former Met detectives asked her questions about allegations regarding Pernice as part of the BBC’s ongoing investigation.

It is claimed that they discussed Abbington’s claims of sexual comments during rehearsals, reports The Sun.

Pernice, 33, strenuously denies the allegations against him and has previously said he looks forward to clearing his name.

‘The BBC is taking this extremely seriously,’ a source told the publication.

‘Giovanni maintains he’s done nothing wrong, and Amanda insists everything she has told the BBC is true.

‘So whatever decision the BBC comes to, it is unlikely to be the end of the matter.’

Abbington has described Penice as ‘nasty’ and claimed that he exhibited ‘bullying’ behaviour.

The professional dancer, who was confirmed to have left Strictly in June when the pro line-up was announced, is currently under investigation following the allegations made against him.

The Sherlock star also claimed in an interview with Channel 4’s Krishnan Guru-Murthy that she is being blocked from accessing 50 hours of footage showing a ‘toxic’ rehearsal room.

Abbington claimed she requested their rehearsals be filmed after week one and that BBC staff were ‘shocked and horrified’ by what they saw.

She also alleged that Pernice exhibited ‘humiliating behaviour of a sexual nature.’

Guru-Murthy said he heard from ‘someone else’ he did not name that Abbington had been subjected to ‘humiliating behaviour of a sexual nature’ and asked if the allegation was correct.

Abbington nodded her head, wiped back the tears and hesitantly said: ‘Yeah.’

After Guru-Murthy said he was sorry, she added: ‘It’s alright. Its OK. Yeah. One of the many things.’

A representative for Giovanni told Metro.co.uk at the time: ‘Giovanni refutes any claim of threatening or abusive behaviour, and having provided the BBC with his evidence, is confident that the review will prove this.

‘We would urge people to wait for the review’s conclusion and not to pay heed to these very serious and defamatory allegations that have no evidence in support of them.’

BBC has now introduced new welfare measures for the 2024 series of Strictly, including the presence of a chaperone in each training session.

This comes after Graziano Di Prima also left Strictly. It was claimed ‘kicked and hit’ Zara McDermott, 27, during rehearsals while they were training for the 2023 season of the BBC series.

However, in his first interview since his exit from Strictly, Di Prima, 30, has claimed his foot ‘brushed’ McDermott after he ‘kicked the floor in frustration’ due to the ‘pressure of the show.’

Amid the controversy, Strictly is promoting their 20th anniversary series and has announced 12 of the castmates including Shayne Ward, Tom Dean, and Tasha Ghouri.

Some viewers have criticised the lineup, claiming that the calibre of celebrity has lowered and linking it to the scandal. They’ve also questioned if one star has too much dance experience.

Metro.co.uk has contacted BBC and representatives for Amanda Abbington and Giovanna Pernice for comment.

Got a story?

If you’ve got a celebrity story, video or pictures get in touch with the Metro.co.uk entertainment team by emailing us celebtips@metro.co.uk, calling 020 3615 2145 or by visiting our Submit Stuff page – we’d love to hear from you.