Strictly’s Amanda Abbington has admitted she feels “vulnerable” following “relentless” online abuse.
Professional dancer Giovanni Pernice has come under fire in recent months for his “militant approach to training” after Amanda, his celebrity partner, left the show abruptly last year.
The actress has since accused Giovanni of threatening or abusive behaviour, which he has strongly denied, and the accusations are currently being investigated.
Speaking on BBC Radio 4’s Woman’s Hour on Friday, Amanda confessed she “stepped away from social media” after she received “incredibly toxic and relentless” online abuse.
She admitted: “When I’m on the train and things, I do sometimes feel exposed and vulnerable, I do, because of the nature of the threats I was getting.
“You do feel like you’re public enemy number one for saying ‘I do not feel entirely happy with this’.”
“(I’ve had) so many beautiful responses from people just giving me a cuddle and just saying ‘we love you’ and thank you for doing this for my daughter and my family’.”
The Sherlock actress confessed there were “pockets of times” when she got along with Giovanni – before it would turn to “chaos.”
She admitted: “When you’re in a room, and you just feel ‘I don’t want to be spoken to like this, I don’t deserve to be spoken to like this, I’m trying my best. I’m working hard and for these things to be happening to me’.”
“I recognise red flags and I recognise bad behaviour, because it’s happened to me in the past, and they were coming up more and more frequently.”
“And I decided to just speak to the producers about it and say, ‘Look, I’m not comfortable. This is beginning to slightly get out of hand. And it’s a repeat pattern, it starts well, and then it starts to descend into chaos’.”
“And I don’t think I deserve that because I’m coming into this room with a positive outlook and trying to do the best that I can and that’s not being reciprocated. I don’t feel happy or safe.”
In a new interview with Channel 4 last week, Amanda claimed there is 50 hours of footage which her ex-Strictly partner “doesn’t want anyone to see”.
The Sherlock star alleged the footage was from video cameras that were installed after she raised concerns about Giovanni to the show’s producers.
Amanda alleged the footage was being “blocked” and her lawyer was “not allowed it”.
The actress said her lawyer was “trying to get a lift on that” but “he [Pernice] doesn’t want anyone to see it, which is quite telling if you’ve got nothing to hide”.
Amanda also spoke about being subject to “brutal, relentless and unforgiving” threats since she left the show.
The actress claimed she has received “rape threats towards not only myself, but my daughter and the threats of death to my son”.
She also claimed she knows of “three other women” who went through a similar experience during their time on Strictly, and alleged there is “potentially” more people set to come forward.
When asked if there was any aftercare provided by the show, she said: “No, it would have been nice, I suppose.”
In response to Amanda’s interview, a spokesperson for Giovanni told Channel 4 News that he is cooperating with the investigation and “believe it is the right forum for all the evidence to be reviewed”.