‘Sherlock’ Star Claims, ‘Strictly Come Dancing’ Experience Was “Brutal”

Following the recent Strictly Come Dancing controversy, Sherlock star Amanda Abbington has come out to address the issue, claiming the BBC failed to “take her abuse claims seriously.” The former contestant exited the show in 2023, claiming it was due to “medical and personal reasons,” but it was alleged it has something to do with now-former Strictly star, Giovanni Pernice.

In an interview with Channel 4 News, Abbington shared her experience with the show before her exit, explaining “It’s bullying and its aggressive behavior and there were other things that happened that were very upsetting.” The actress also went into detail about her thoughts on the aftermath of the incident. Abbington claimed that she received multiple threats from fans of the show and the dancer, wishing harm against her and her family. “it’s been brutal and relentless and unforgiving.”

Abbington Shared Others Had Similar Experiences.

Unfortunately, Abbington was unable to share specifics of the incident due to the ongoing investigation, but she was able to reveal that other people had a similar experience to her. “It was unnecessary, you know. And when that was getting thrown at me, I’d shut down cuz I’ve been in abusive situations in the past. So I recognize the red flags” said Abbington. “So I’d shut down and wouldn’t be able to do the job. I wouldn’t do it because I felt attacked.”

Abbington also shared that in the past, producers would reach out to check on her. But the moment the threats came in, as well as the fallout of the situation, there was radio silence from the broadcaster. She also revealed that there were 50 hours of filmed footage that was blocked from her lawyers. When she was in the show, cameras were put in place after the actress made complaints towards her dance partner.

“The producers came to me and said ‘We’re going to put in cameras so we can view the footage at the end of the week and make an assessment and see what’s going on. And then every Friday after that for the next, sort off, five weeks, I would get the producer saying ‘on the Friday we’ve just watched the footage back. We are shocked and horrified. We’re so sorry.”

‘Strictly Come Dancing’ Controversy, Explained

Abbington said that she loved Strictly and understood the amount of work that’s needed to be a contestant in the show. She was upset that she didn’t get the experience that she hoped for but was glad to see others who did. According to Deadline, a BBC spokesperson said that they take these complaints extremely seriously and are kept in constant review.

“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.”

Strictly Come Dancing (aka Dancing with the Stars) is a reality dance show in the UK that first aired on the BBC in 2004. Recently, the broadcaster announced changes to its upcoming season after contestants made complaints about two of the show’s dancers, Giovanni Pernice and Graziano Di Prima. Aside from Abbington, Love Island star, Zara McDermott, said she had issues with her dance partner, Di Prima, alleging that she was kicked during rehearsals.

Since then, the show has announced welfare measures to protect both the celebrities and the dancers and that both Pernice and Di Prima won’t be returning to the show.

Strictly Come Dancing season 22 is scheduled to air on BBC One in September 2024.

Dancing with the Stars

Release Date

June 1, 2005

Cast

Carrie Ann Inaba , Tyra Banks , Melanie Chisholm , Melora Hardin , Marty Cove , Kenya Moore , Brian Austin Green , Tom Bergeron

Seasons

32

Studio

ABC