Strictly star Giovanni Pernice has been handed a massive boost in his BBC bullying case, the Mirror can reveal.
It was widely reported that other celebs such as Laura Whitmore and Ranvir Singh were set to join Amanda Abbington in lodging complaints with the BBC. In fact, Amanda herself has suggested there are “five or six” people affected by Giovanni’s behaviour.
But sources say that the only formal allegations put to Giovanni after the BBC investigation involved Amanda. This would suggest the BBC have already ruled that Giovanni doesn’t have a case to answer for in relation to the other celebs or that they didn’t lodge a formal complaint in the first place.
A BBC source said: “The narrative – certainly from Amanda – is that there has been a tsunami of complainants to the BBC. But the truth of the matter is that Giovanni has only been asked for his response to Amanda’s claims. This would suggest two things. One they haven’t made a formal complaint in the first place. Or, two, the BBC felt it wasn’t serious enough to warrant inclusion in their evidence dossier to put to Giovanni for response.”
Giovanni Pernice plants a kiss on Shirley (
Image:
Shirley Ballas Instagram)
Giovanni is being supported by Anton Du Beke (
Image:
,BBC Studios)
Amanda claimed only this week on Channel 4 News that she was one of many. She told Krishnan Guru-Murthy: “I know a lot of people went in to speak to them. I’m the official complainer. I think there’s about five or six (other complainants) from what I can gather, but there’s three main people, who’ve made complaints, mine’s the official one.”
Amanda also suggested in the same interview that the BBC and Giovanni were blocking her from seeing 50 hours of footage saying the dancer “doesn’t want anyone to see”. The Sherlock actress claimed the footage was from video cameras she alleges were installed after she raised concerns
But she said the footage was being “blocked” and her lawyer was “not allowed it”. She 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”.
But BBC sources say they have gone through the footage with a “fine-tooth comb” and that the “reason they haven’t supplied Amanda with the footage was because they were worried of it leaking”. A source said they “wanted to preserve the integrity of the investigation”.
A spokesperson for Giovanni said: “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.
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“As part of the evidence-led review, the BBC has shared the allegations and there are none, nor any evidence, that resemble Amanda Abbington’s numerous and variable allegations. 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.”
Meanwhile show judge Craig Revel Horwood said complaints about dancers were a “shock” to him. He said: “The judges are never present at any of the teaching and we literally come in on a Saturday and judge what we see before us. We’re kept very, very separate to the rest of the company, so for us it’s complete news.” Asked if he is worried about the future of Strictly, he added: “I don’t think so. It’s one of those shows that belongs in the people’s hearts that are at home who love dancing. And there’s nothing better than seeing someone come from nothing, work hard and move up to being absolutely phenomenal.”
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Source: Los Angeles Times (edited)