Former contestant Laura Whitmore has issued a statement on Strictly Come Dancing amid the BBC’s apparent internal investigation into professional dancer Giovanni Pernice

Laura Whitmore has confirmed that she was asked to the speak to the BBC about alleged “inappropriate behaviour” behind-the-scenes on Strictly Come Dancing.

The presenter, now 39, competed on the show in 2016 and was partnered with professional dancer Giovanni Pernice, now 33. 

More recently, he’s faced allegations of “bullying” and “aggressive behaviour” from actor Amanda Abbington, 50, who was partnered with him for last year’s series.

Giovanni’s former celebrity partner Laura has now shared a statement on Instagram amid the apparent BBC internal investigation into his behaviour. 

She didn’t name Giovanni, but said she had experienced things that were “wrong” whilst in the rehearsal room during her stint. She wrote: “I was trying not to comment on recent press speculation until the BBC review is complete but feel there is a lot of misinformation in the press and I want to help and show support by setting the record straight.

“I was asked to speak to the BBC along with six people that I know of (who deserve anonymity as they don’t want to be dragged through the press), about inappropriate behaviour they experienced similar to mine with the same individual. I initially raised concerns back in 2016.

“I thought my experience was specific to me but I’ve since learned I was wrong. The aim of this is to show a pattern of behaviour that I believe needs to stop. My evidence is to support other people’s experience. It’s a shame it takes this for someone to be heard. I am not looking for anything just an acceptance that what happened to me in the rehearsal rooms during my time on BBC Strictly was wrong and that it won’t happen to anyone else again. Because I have not made an official complaint, and am providing evidence of my experience to support the investigation, not all the communication will be passed on to all parties involved.”

Laura concluded: “Misinformation is being put into the press so l want to set the record straight. Victim blaming must stop or we will never get better. I’ve tried to speak up in the correct way. I know the BBC and all outlets continue to do their best to be better, but for that to happen we must speak up.”

Giovanni, who isn’t part of the line-up for this year’s series, has previously denied allegations of “abusive or threatening behaviour”. He said in a statement released in May: “To my dear fans, you will be as surprised as I am that allegations have been made about my dance teaching methods in the media this week. Of course, I reject any suggestion of abusive or threatening behaviour, and I look forward to clearing my name.

“Those who have followed my journey on [Strictly] over the last decade will know that I am passionate and competitive. No-one is more ambitious for my dance partners than me. I have always striven to help them be the very best dancers they can be. This has always come from a place of love and wanting to win – for me and my dance partners. Thank you all once again for your continued love and support!”

The BBC is said to have recently launched an internal investigation after receiving complaints about Giovanni. Amanda has confirmed in an interview on Channel 4 News that she complained about him. She was partnered with Giovanni on Strictly last year but it was announced just weeks into the contest that she had withdrawn from it. She said at the time that she was “unable to continue” due to “personal reasons”. Amanda later said that she was “diagnosed with mild PTSD after Strictly for several reasons”. She’s since described Giovanni as “nasty” and “awful”.

Laura has herself previously spoken about having competed on Strictly almost eight years ago. She wrote in a piece for the Huffington Post in 2018: “I’m still not ready to talk in depth about my experience on the show. I love dancing – I topped the leaderboard twice – but before it even began, I was thrown into the lion’s den and into the middle of someone’s break-up that had nothing to do with me. Once again, I was a ‘rumoured love interest’.

“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. To the outside world I tried to suck it up and smile, and I did that to the best of my ability, but it affected me deeply. My friends and family knew that I was struggling. And they were there for me. The media, however, saw me as blonde bait in a sequinned dress.”

As previously reported, Laura suggested to You magazine at the time of filming that things had been ‘complicated,’ particularly given that she was pals with Giovanni’s ex Georgia May Foote. Amid insisting that Giovanni was “too young” for her, Laura said: “It has definitely affected my dancing. I’m so self-conscious I haven’t allowed myself to develop a proper partnership with Giovanni.”

More recently, in 2020, Laura is quoted as having told the Private Parts podcast that she hadn’t enjoyed spending such lengthy amounts of time with Giovanni. She reportedly said: “What I didn’t like was being removed from everybody and having to spend 12 hours a day with this one person. It did not become about the dancing. I just wanted to dance. I did not want to play the game of doing red carpets with your dance partner and stuff like that, which a lot of people thought you should be doing. I did not want to do that.”

Following Amanda’s interview on Channel 4 earlier this week, the BBC said in a statement: “Anyone involved in a complaint has a right to confidentiality and fair process and therefore it would be inappropriate to comment further on individuals. However, when issues are raised with us we always take them extremely seriously and have appropriate processes in place to manage this. As we have said before, we would urge people not to indulge in speculation. More generally, the BBC and BBC Studios takes duty of care extremely seriously. Our processes on Strictly Come Dancing are updated every year, they are kept under constant review and last week we announced additional steps to further strengthen welfare and support on the show.”

Whilst a spokesperson for Giovanni said at the time: “We are cooperating fully with the BBC’s review process. All parties have been asked to respect this process and to not speak to the media before it concludes. We will continue to respect the integrity of the investigation and believe it is the right forum for all the evidence to be reviewed. As part of the evidence-led review, the BBC has shared the allegations they have been able to substantiate with us. They do not resemble Amanda’s latest allegations, given to Channel 4, in any shape or form. Giovanni refutes any claim of threatening or abusive behaviour, and having provided the BBC with his evidence, is confident that the review will prove this.”

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Source: USA Today