The BBC’s probe into Amanda Abbington’s complaints about Giovanni Pernice has almost wrapped up and the Sherlock star is reportedly not happy.
Amanda, 50, abruptly quit Strictly Come Dancing last year before making allegations against her dance partner, 33.
An investigation into Giovanni was then launched by the BBC, with the professional dancer denying any wrongdoing.
He was reportedly ‘on the brink of being cleared’ before Amanda allegedly handed over more texts as evidence.
The Inside No. 9 actress is now said to be ‘very angry’ with the probe, with her friend claiming the women who have come forward are being ‘ignored’.
‘She’s deeply disappointed with the BBC,’ the source told The Sun. ‘She thinks it feels like such a boys’ club.’
They continued: ‘As well as the probe taking so long, it feels like they are protecting Giovanni to save themselves and ignoring not only her experience but that of other women who’ve bravely come forward.’
A separate source claimed that the Mr Selfridge actress believed that despite initial support from investigators, her claims were not always taken seriously.
The friend added: ‘Amanda feels tired, upset and very angry with the way it’s all been handled. She is worried there will be a predictable whitewash and others will, once again, suffer from aggression and abuse.’
A BBC spokesperson previously told Metro.co.uk: ‘We will not be commenting on individuals.’
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Amanda gave a tearful interview with Channel 4’s Krishnan Guru-Murthy earlier this year and claimed she was being blocked from accessing 50 hours of footage showing a ‘toxic’ rehearsal room.
She has also described her former dance partner as ‘nasty’ and claimed that he exhibited ‘bullying’ behaviour during their brief time on the show.
During the interview, Krishnan said he heard from ‘someone else’ that she had been subjected to ‘humiliating behaviour of a sexual nature’ and asked if the allegation was correct.
In response, Amanda nodded her head, wiping back the tears as she hesitantly said: ‘Yeah.’
Giovanni has since signed up for a new TV show – Ballando con le Stelle – the Italian version of Strictly Come Dancing.
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.’
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Metro.co.uk has contacted the BBC, Amanda and Giovanni’s reps for comment.
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