Giovanni Pernice speaks out for the first time about partner Amanda Abbington’s departure amid allegations of demanding rehearsal footage and suffering from PTSD

Strictly Come Dancing’s Giovanni Pernice has finally broken his silence on former celeb parter Amanda Abbington’s explosive exit from the BBC show. 

The actress, 52, quit mid-series last year due to ‘personal reasons’ amid claims of a feud between her and Giovanni, 33, before reports she had demanded footage of their rehearsals after the experience in the competition left her with PTSD.

Speaking on The Mirror’s Invite Only podcast alongside fellow dancer Anton Du Beke, 57, he said: ‘It’s a shame because, in my opinion, [Amanda] could have gone all the way.’

While judge Anton added: ‘I thought you and Amanda were marvellous. I thought you were terrific’ and compared the Sherlock actress’ talents to 2019 winner Kelvin Fletcher. 

Following accusations of his ‘militant’ teaching style Giovanni admitted that was a ‘perfectionist’ but said it came from a ‘perspective of caring’ and that he believed all other professional dancers were the same. 

Strictly Come Dancing ‘s Giovanni Pernice, 33, has finally broken his silence on former celeb parter Amanda Abbington ‘s explosive exit from the show

The actress, 52, quit mid-series last year due to ‘personal reasons’ amid claims of a feud between her and Giovanni before reports she had demanded footage of their rehearsals after the experience in the competition left her with PTSD (pictured together on the show)

Saying: ‘In every single part of the world, if you’re a professional dancer on one of these [Strictly] shows, you have to get these people looking the best they can on Saturday night’. 

‘And if we have good scores at the end, I do look back and say, ‘I’ve done a great job’. But we all care about our partners and we want that for them every single week; to look great on a Saturday’. 

He continued: ‘There’s no specific way that you are, or have to be with your celebrity. You make the most of their strengths so the only thing that’s constant is the fact that you have to do a show on Saturday night.’ 

It comes after MailOnline exclusively revealed that Amanda had dropped her complaint to the BBC and had not contacted the Corporation on the matter further. 

Sources at the BBC said that the ‘matter is now closed’ and they have ‘moved on’ after she asked to review the recordings of their off-screen dancing after she left the series, citing ‘personal reasons.’

Amanda was also seeking legal advice over Giovanni’s alleged behaviour towards her, believing video footage could ‘back up’ her claims.

It is understood that the first BBC chiefs knew about her PTSD late last year when they received a request for the tapes.

One show insider told the Mail: ‘The whole thing was baffling but when Amanda contacted the BBC, she wanted some answers.

During a podcast appearance alongside fellow dancer Anton Du Beke (L)  Giovanni (R) said: ‘It’s a shame because, in my opinion, [Amanda] could have gone all the way’

The actress noticeably snubbed the pro dancer from her exit statement which she posted on Instagram 

‘But she hasn’t followed it through and the matter is now closed. Amanda said she left for a medical reason at the time, but that was not PTSD.

‘Her complaint was of course looked at but they were adamant that Giovanni had done nothing wrong. The BBC were ready to fight her, Amanda’s reason for quitting Strictly was an entirely different one to her PTSD.

‘She told production of a totally different medical condition and they [were] hugely supportive of her and did all they could to help.’

Amanda left the show during week five in October. It has reportedly taken months for her to recover from her time on the programme and she has apparently needed therapy following the ‘behaviour she was exposed to.’

Speaking about her condition, Amanda told The Sun: ‘I was diagnosed with mild PTSD after Strictly for several reasons and I told a few people about that, in the utmost confidence, among other things that were happening in my life at the time both professionally and personally.’

A BBC spokesman declined to comment at the time.

It comes after MailOnline exclusively revealed that Amanda had dropped her complaint to the BBC and had not contacted the Corporation on the matter further 

Amanda was praised by the judges for her performances during her time on the show but it was claimed she was struggling behind the scenes.

An inside source told The Telegraph: ‘It could be that she didn’t know what she let herself in for.

‘He [Giovanni] was quite tough and she found that difficult. If she wasn’t very well, that wouldn’t have helped.

‘She was with a partner that had a certain training style that she couldn’t cope with. Whether that came to a head or whether there’s something else going on I don’t know.’

Giovanni’s parents said the dancer ‘was just doing his job’ following Amanda’s shock departure from Strictly.

Addressing the news at the time, Giovanni’s father Piero and mother Rosalda admitted that their son ‘trained for long hours but was just doing his job’.

Twinkle-toed star Giovanni was reportedly only given the news of Amanda’s exit a few hours before the official statement was released.

A source told the Daily Star: ‘Amanda didn’t tell Giovanni she had decided to quit the show. The first he heard was a call from a producer.

‘This has really annoyed him. He’s barely heard from her for 10 days. She hasn’t been replying to messages or telling him what’s happening.

‘He’s been complaining about it to friends. He’s frustrated. He is worried the drama will be damaging for his career and make him look bad.’

Amanda snubbed the show’s December final which saw thhe stars of the year’s series that had previously been eliminated came together to do a group dance and celebrate with the winner. 

A source told The Mirror of why she wouldn’t be there: ‘They wanted to position her as still very much part of the Strictly family, but Amanda’s response to the invitation was she’d not be back.

‘It’s a shame, because her exit has been a sour note to the series this year.’

The Strictly insider added her snub has been ‘difficult’ and upsetting for Giovanni as he doesn’t want people to see it ‘as a reflection on him.’

They added whilst the pair sometimes ‘clashed’ Giovanni wishes her all the best.

Giovanni has reportedly fallen out with a number of his former partners on the show.

In 2016, former Love Island host Laura Whitmore said she ‘cried every day’ and felt ‘uncomfortable’ while training with him.

She later wrote for HuffPost UK in 2018: ‘I’m still not ready to talk in depth about my experience on the show.

‘I was placed with a dance partner I was extremely uncomfortable with and in the end I felt broken, I cried every day. And I really was broken, both mentally and physically, by the end.’

Giovanni was also said to have fallen out with Good Morning Britain star Ranvir Singh in 2020 and ‘feuded’ with Richie Anderson in 2022.