Giovanni Pernice declares ‘war’ and insists there's 'concrete evidence' to clear his name

Former Strictly Come Dancing professional Giovanni Pernice has hit back at Amanda Abbington after she appeared in two TV interviews this week discussing her “toxic” experience with the Italian dancer on the BBC show.

Giovanni, 33, has continuously denied any allegations made against him and has now spoken out about Amanda’s claim that “sexual bullying” occurred in the training room.

On Wednesday, Channel 4 News presenter Krishnan Guru-Murthy asked the Sherlock actress: “I heard, not from you, from somebody else, about an instance of, I suppose you’d call it humiliating behaviour of a sexual nature. Is that right?"

A tearful Amanda replied: “Yeah. I mean, you know, one of the many things.”

A friend of the dancer told the Daily Mail: "Gio is so cross. He just can't work out why she would come out and say these things. She didn't give any further detail, it's like she drops a bomb and then doesn't follow it through.

“The verdict is just days away now, it's the home straight for him but he is absolutely determined to clear his name.

"He and his team are adamant that there is something concrete which will prove that Amanda is telling lies. He can't wait for the truth to come out, it will be a huge relief for him. Giovanni is not going let this go. It is basically war now. He will clear his name with all the evidence he has."

Amanda also claimed that there are 50 hours of video footage - from cameras she alleges were installed after she raised concerns during her first week on the show - which Pernice "doesn't want anyone to see" but have been reviewed by the BBC.

The actress claimed producers were "shocked and horrified" after they viewed her training films, but said she is unable to provide more detail because of the ongoing BBC review of her complaint.

Giovanni's team denied that the footage has been blocked, telling the aforementioned publication: "Giovanni has not seen or blocked [anyone from seeing] the video footage, which belongs to the BBC. Gio has chosen not to receive it to preserve the integrity of the review."

In her emotional interview, Amanda said the backlash she received after raising her complaint has been “brutal, relentless and unforgiving”, adding that her children have also been the subjects of “rape and death threats”.

She said she wants to encourage people who feel "bullied" or are in a situation they feel is "toxic and unsafe" to complain, despite the backlash she has allegedly received.

Abbington said: "I know it happened because it happened to me. I am not a sensational person... I'm not hysterical. I don't make things out to be bigger than they are. I know what happened to me in that room wasn't acceptable. I complained about it and sort of have not been taken seriously.

"We have to cultivate a society and an environment where women – or men - can come forward and say, 'I'm finding this uncomfortable. Can you do something about it?' And then something be done about it.”

The BBC have released a statement in response to the interview. It read: "Anyone involved in a complaint has a right to confidentiality and fair process and therefore it would be inappropriate to comment further on individuals.

"However, when issues are raised with us we always take them extremely seriously and have appropriate processes in place to manage this. As we have said before, we would urge people not to indulge in speculation.

"More generally, the BBC and BBC Studios takes duty of care extremely seriously. Our processes on Strictly Come Dancing are updated every year, they are kept under constant review and last week we announced additional steps to further strengthen welfare and support on the show."