With ‘bullying’ claims threatening to become a legal issue, what does the future hold for the show?
ALL THE GOSSIP
It’s supposed to be a fun family show that brings people together every Saturday night between the months of September and December. But in recent years, the number of scandals, alleged fall-outs and that infamous ‘Strictly curse’ means that Strictly Come Dancing is perhaps not quite the light-hearted show it once was.
Now, in arguably the biggest scandal in the show’s history, 2023 contestant Amanda Abbington is said to be seeking legal advice over her professional partner Giovanni Pernice’s alleged ‘aggressive’ treatment towards her. Amanda, who withdrew from the show in October for ‘personal reasons’, is even reportedly demanding footage of their rehearsals to back up her claims.
The BBC is said to be refusing to launch an investigation into Giovanni, but with some of his previous partners speaking out against him, is his future and the reputation of the show in jeopardy?
Backstage rows
There were rumours that Amanda and Giovanni weren’t getting along before the first live show even aired, with a source at the time saying, ‘Giovanni is a hard taskmaster and takes the competition very, very seriously. Sometimes his manner is incredibly brusque and this can upset his partners. Amanda was really looking forward to dancing with him, but has found his aggressive training style and attitude pretty difficult to handle. He is quite militant in his approach to training. She’s been left very shaken.’
And when she posted a statement on Instagram revealing that she was quitting the show, Amanda, who is said to have since been diagnosed with PTSD, failed to mention her dance partner Giovanni, which again sparked rumours of a fall-out. She said, ‘For personal reasons I am unable to continue. It was an absolute joy working with my fellow contestants. I want to thank the incredible production team and everyone on Strictly who looked after me and who are so kind and caring. It’s a wonderful bunch of people and I’ll miss all of them.’
The show’s hosts, Claudia Winkleman and Tess Daly, said following Amanda’s shock exit, ‘We are sending you all our love.’
Despite appearing to deny reports of a feud at the time, saying she was ‘ignoring the bull***t’, it’s now been reported that Amanda has taken ‘months to recover’ from her stint on the show and has even sought therapy. A source said, ‘Everyone else was having a fabulous time bu
