BBC Strictly's Amanda Abbington breaks silence on 'cruel' Giovanni Pernice

Strictly Come Dancing's former contestant Amanda Abbington has said spoken out for the first time since the BBC allegedly opened an investigation into professional dancer Giovanni Pernice's behaviour towards her - But he denies any wrongdoing.

The whistleblower admitted that she felt "surprised and shocked" as more celebrity contestants have followed suit in making complaints about their professional dance partners. However, she hopes it won't cause the BBC show to come to an end.

Meanwhile, Giovanni previously issued a heartfelt denial to his supporters, stating: "To my dear fans, I reject any suggestion of abusive or threatening behaviour, and I look forward to clearing my name."

Sherlock star Amanda, 50, believes the corporation must bring in better safety measures for the new set of contestants in September. And although she wants Strictly to survive past its 20th anniversary this year, it is “unlikely that she will watch the programme”.

A source close to the actress said: “Amanda has no desire for the show to end, but in light of everything that has surfaced over the past week or so, she thinks they need to meticulously implement more stringent and thoughtful safety measures.

“The BBC just needs to make sure everyone has a nice and happy time rather than the experiences many of them have gone through, which are not acceptable.”

A fifth female contestant is believed to be considering talking to lawyers to share details of the “hell” she endured on the show. So far, BBC bosses have spoken to Amanda, presenter Laura Whitmore, 39, newsreader Ranvir Singh, 46, former Love Island star Zara McDermott, 27, and an unnamed male celebrity.

Giovanni Pernice, 33, quit the show earlier this year following Amanda’s allegations and Graziano Di Prima, 30, was sacked as a result of a video that showed him kicking and abusing Zara in rehearsals.

Strictly judge and former dance professional Anton Du Beke, 58, was yesterday dragged into the fray. His “offensive” comments made to Footballer’s Wives actress Laila Rouass, 52 – to whom he apologised when they were paired up on the show in 2009 – re-emerged.

Meanwhile Amanda, who was married to Hobbit star Martin Freeman for 16 years until 2016, is in rehearsals for a play opening in London at the end of this month. She is due to be interviewed on ITV later this week by Christine Bleakley, 45, another former Strictly contestant, who is standing in for daytime TV host Lorraine Kelly.

The source close to the star went on: “Amanda has been through hell over the last couple of years. The excitement and happiness of being on Strictly soon turned to a sense of despair because of what she went through.

“What really angers her, and those who know and love her, is the fact she’s been portrayed as some kind of drama queen who got angry because her toe was stamped on. Nothing could be further from the truth.

"The behaviour the BBC is investigating in relation to Giovanni is incredibly serious and involves a lot of witnesses and evidence. That’s why it’s taking a long time for them to get to the bottom of things. When the truth is out, people are going to be left with a very different impression of the whole thing.”

They added: “Amanda didn’t take making a complaint lightly. But, in the end, she felt as if she was left with no option as the behaviour she experienced was not OK. She’s been as surprised and shocked as everyone else to see other people now coming forward to make their own complaints.

“The pressure is really growing on the BBC now. There’s more and more evidence mounting up to suggest they were aware of lots of different problems and issues which they turned a blind eye to.”

According to The Sun, Amanda has said that she found Giovanni's behaviour to be "cruel and mean". She reportedly said: “I found Giovanni’s behaviour unnecessary, abusive, cruel and mean. I couldn’t sit back and let him do that to other people.

“I had to think long and hard about making a complaint because I knew the backlash I would get. But I would not have been able to live with myself for future people going on that show. I know what happened in that room, it’s on video and I have no problem with anyone seeing that. It’s a duty of care that is needed.

“Rehearsal rooms should be a safe space, there is a duty of care and kindness, and that courtesy wasn’t extended to me on this job. I was being as amenable as possible and it wasn’t being reciprocated, that’s all. And I wanted to complain about it because I didn’t think it was fair — this is a publicly owned company."

The BBC has already announced that a member of the production staff will now be present at every rehearsal in the new Strictly series.