The scandal threatens to end BBC Saturday night favourite Strictly Come Dancing.
But with the BBC set to announce tomorrow that it will rule on whether Giovanni Pernice bullied his former partner Amanda Abbington, the dance professional is confident he has provided evidence to show he is far from the “cruel, violent and mean” man the Sherlock actress claims he is.
Today The Mail on Sunday can reveal exactly what that is – and surprisingly, it comes from Mrs Abbington, not him.
Amanda Abbingdon called herself a ‘nightmare’ when she and Giovanni Pernice danced from August to October last year
Sources close to the situation say Mr Pernice now expects to be cleared of bullying Ms Abbingdon (pictured) after the three-month investigation
Mr Pernice, 33, handed over to BBC detectives a 28-minute audio recording of a conversation between him and Ms Abbington, which his team say proves he was not bullying her but was in fact very supportive.
We can also reveal that the Italian has handed the inquiry a file containing screenshots of WhatsApp messages between him and Ms Abbington, 50, in which she raved about how helpful he had been, how nice she thought he was and apologised.
In the clip, she told Mr Pernice that if she had been him, she would have “thrown myself out the window a long time ago”, clearly acknowledging that she could be difficult.
She also referred to herself as “sabotaging” and repeatedly stated that he supported her when she struggled with the show.
She also called herself a ‘nightmare’ because they danced from August to October last year. However, she quit the series after six weeks, citing medical reasons.
Sources close to the situation say Mr Pernice now expects to be cleared of her bullying after the three-month investigation, with the BBC releasing its findings to both parties on Monday. The Corporation is also expected to issue a “minor” statement.
The investigation has been frustrating for the BBC, particularly as Ms Abbington spoke out several times in the past week, before the investigation was concluded.
Last week, in an interview with Channel 4 News, she said an incident of a “degrading sexual nature” had occurred. She also said she was receiving dozens of death and rape threats a day after complaining to the BBC that Mr Pernice had bullied her.
This newspaper can reveal that Mr Pernice’s former dance partners were invited by the BBC to talk about their own experiences working with him.
Meanwhile, members of the Strictly crew were also interviewed. It is understood that no one reported having experienced or witnessed bad behaviour from Mr Pernice, 33.
Last week, a tearful Mrs Abbington told Channel 4 News in an interview that an incident of a ‘degrading sexual nature’ had taken place
Mr Pernice, 33, (pictured with Ms Abbington during rehearsals) gave BBC investigators a 28-minute audio recording of the pair talking, which his team say proves he was not bullying her but was in fact very supportive.
The scandal broke around the turn of the year after Ms Abbington told The Sun she was suffering from PTSD as a result of her appearance on Strictly and reportedly asked to see rehearsal footage so she could pass it on to her lawyers.
The BBC refused her request. In April, it launched a formal investigation into her claims that Mr Pernice had bullied her during their training sessions. Last week, she alleged that an incident of a “degrading sexual nature” had taken place during an interview with Channel 4 News presenter Krishnan Guru-Murthy, who also appeared on the same series of Strictly.
Mr Pernice’s spokesman said he was unaware of the sexual allegations until Channel 4 approached his lawyers at Schillings to offer him the right to respond, just hours before the interview aired on Wednesday. He strongly denies the claims.
Earlier, Ms Abbington, 52, claimed Mr Pernice had stepped on her foot, causing her to bruise her toe. She did not give further details.
Last Sunday she told The Sun: ‘I found Giovanni’s behaviour unnecessary, insulting, cruel and mean. I couldn’t sit back and let him do that to other people.’ Again, she gave no details.
Meanwhile, the fallout at the BBC is said to be ‘serious’, with bosses already under fire for an explanation as to why the investigation took three months, when significant damage was done to Strictly, often seen as the BBC’s crown jewel.
But insiders have hit back, saying it was because the investigation took so long that Strictly staff were able to name professional dancer Graziano Di Prima, who punched and kicked his former partner Zara McDermott. Investigators sacked him within 48 hours, citing misconduct.
While the outcome of the investigation into Mr Pernice is expected tomorrow, BBC sources say there may be more to come.
During her interview with Mr Guru-Murthy, Ms Abbington said she wanted compensation for the loss of earnings following her appearance on the show and the claims that she was bullied.
But they could also face possible action from Mr Pernice, who is unhappy about being paired with Ms Abbington without her undergoing psychological testing.
Yesterday a spokesman for Ms Abbington said: ‘These details change nothing: as Amanda has repeatedly stated, she did her best to make it work. This included being open with Giovanni about her own shortcomings as a dancer and her awareness of how difficult this must have been for him. That these comments are now being presented as some kind of excuse for the bullying Amanda has experienced is as unacceptable as the behaviour itself.’