AMANDA ABBINGTON has agreed to a showdown meeting with Strictly Come Dancing bosses, Sun Online can reveal.
The Sherlock actress will sit down with BBC execs later this month amid reports – exclusively revealed in The Sun today – that she is planning to sue the corporation.
The probe into Giovanni upheld just six of the 17 complaints against him[/caption]
Details of the meeting come 24 hours after the findings of a long-awaited report into allegations she made against Giovanni Pernice were released.
The BBC upheld six of the 17 complaints she made against the Italian who later quit the show.
Now a source close to the investigation revealed how Amanda is planning to demand information regarding “unanswered questions” she has about the probe.
The insider said: “Amanda is grateful to the BBC for the apology they made, but this is far from the end of the matter.
“There are still a number of areas which Amanda is unhappy about. The BBC offered Amanda the chance of a meeting and it is something she is going to be doing. It’s not a decision she’s taken lightly.
“Reliving and talking about what happened is very, very difficult and traumatic. But if it means she can get to the bottom of unanswered questions then she will do whatever it takes.”
Our story comes after Giovanni’s former Strictly Come Dancing partner Laura broke her silence.
The former Love Island host, 39, who was partnered with the Italian dancer back in 2016, was one of the stars who spoke to the BBC as part of the investigations after what she described as his ‘inappropriate’ behaviour on the show.
Laura claimed she first raised concerns back in 2016 and in August 2024, she accused the BBC of ‘gaslighting’ her over her experience with the Italian dancer.
Taking to her Instagram stories after the probe verdict, Laura wrote: “I hope this helps people realise they should not be subjected to abusive behaviour in the workplace.
“Things can be twisted online and there’s so much more to this but in black and white there were complaints upheld and an apology made. And the perpetrator no longer works for the channel.”
When Amanda came out with her allegations against Giovanni earlier this year, Laura was one of the first people to publicly support the Sherlock actress as she shared her ‘own experience’. At the time, she took to Instagram to recount her time on the show being partnered with Giovanni.
Strictly’s full scandal so far
Strictly Come Dancing’s scandal has been growing over the past few months, with several major players speaking out about what went on. Here are the key moments of what’s happened so far
16th May: Giovanni Pernice sensationally quits Strictly Come Dancing after nine years on the show.
17th May: Giovanni becomes the centre of an official investigation after three former partners – believed to be Amanda Abbington, Laura Whitmore and Ranvir Singh – make complaints to the BBC.
16th June: Giovanni releases an official statement vowing to clear his name and denies any wrongdoing.
8th July: Strictly confirms Aljaz Skorjanec will return to the series, replacing Giovanni, after initially quitting the show two years ago.
10th July: Amanda Abbington launches fresh legal proceedings to get the rehearsal footage from her time with Giovanni, after allegedly he refused to release the videos.
13th July: Graziano Di Prima is axed from Strictly for “gross misconduct” after footage of his treatment of Zara McDermott is brought to the attention of the BBC.
Graziano quickly broke his silence, apologising for his behaviour in a statement and saying he “deeply regrets it”, adding his “intense passion and determination to win might have affected his training regime.”
15th July: Strictly bosses implement new duty of care protocols, including having a chaperone present throughout all rehearsals.
16th July: Zara McDermott speaks out publicly for first time. She states while the production team were “amazing to work with”, she found the rehearsal room “completely different”, confirming there’s footage of “certain situations”.
19th July: Anton Du Beke is put under the spotlight for his “1970s attitude” and treatment of female celeb stars, particularly after allegedly referring to 2009 partner Laila Rouass as a “p***” after getting a spray tan.
21st July: Paralympian Will Bayley, who has limb condition arthrogryposis, revealed he was encouraged to leap from a table during a dance routine, despite fears. The stunt caused an injury that forced him to withdraw from the show.
22nd July: MasterChef’s Gregg Wallace admits he broke down in tears and got a nasty stress rash on his face during his time on Strictly in 2014.
22nd July: Despite ongoing issues, the Strictly professional cast begin rehearsals for this year’s series.
23rd July: Celebrity agent Melanie Blake claims she was sexually assaulted by an unnamed pro dancer while backstage on the show, and claims she witnessed ageism, rudeness and a rough treatment to the point of injury.
23rd July: Strictly is forced to beef up security after ‘an intruder scales the wall of the rehearsal studio’.
23rd July: BBC boss Tim Davie breaks his silence on the ongoing allegations against Strictly, saying he is ‘deeply sorry’, adding: “Hundreds of people, be they pros, contestants or crew have been part of it and had a brilliant experience.
“At the same time if someone thinks there was something wrong or they want to talk about their experience then of course we want them to raise that with us. Be in no doubt we will take it seriously, listen and deal with it as appropriate.”
24th July: Strictly 2023 star Krishnan Guru-Murthy holds a bombshell interview with Amanda Abbington on Channel 4 news, where she claims she was bullied, with some of the ‘humilation being of a sexual nature’.
27th July: Laura Whitmore releases a statement regarding her Strictly experience, saying “I thought my experience was specific to me but I’ve since learned I was wrong”.
She adds she is not part of the official complaint, but has come forward to support Amanda with the BBC, alongside others.
28th July: Laila Rouass speaks out against the accusations regarding Anton Du Beke, saying she “never felt pressured” by him and “personally insisted on six to seven hours training a day”.
10th August: Graziano breaks his silence on his Strictly axe, saying “these vile, false allegations have ruined my life.”
He also told of the “shocking” end to his friendship with Zara McDermott.
We also revealed that Amanda Abbington was also quizzed for a second time as Strictly execs recruited 15 new staff to monitor rehearsals.
11th August: Just as the investigation was expected to conclude, Amanda made a dramatic intervention. Giovanni was on the brink of being cleared until Amanda handed in more text messages.
24th August: Graziano Di Prima called in top lawyers to sue the BBC and to try to clear his name. He recruited big hitters Whitestone Chambers to fight his corner.
A source said: “They’ve also looked at his BBC contract and believe there are grounds to sue.”
Meanwhile, the BBC also delayed releasing the findings of the probe into Giovanni Pernice. The Sun revealed that the results of the three-month investigation were unlikely to be announced in August.
