Amanda Abbington seems hell bent on killing off Strictly. I think I know why, writes AMANDA PLATELL

The BBC’s internal investigation into Amanda Abbington’s claims that she was bullied during rehearsals by Strictly star dancer Giovanni Pernice is expected to announce its outcome this week, or possibly even tomorrow.

When a large organisation initiates such an investigation, complainants are normally expected to provide confidential evidence and then remain silent until a decision is made.

I know how it works because I was once editor-in-chief of a major newspaper publisher and oversaw such internal investigations.

And yet Abbington has twice given extensive interviews to the national press about an experience that left her with, by her own admission, a “bruised foot” and “post-traumatic stress disorder.” The first time, she told the Sunday Times two weekends ago, and the second time, she told the Sun last Sunday.

The Sunday Times headline read: ‘Strictly was tough, but the aftermath is just brutal’. Abbington recalled the trolling she endured, saying: ‘It just hasn’t stopped.’

Of course, she was also promoting her new theatre show, ironically called When It Happens To You, which is being staged at the lesser-known Park Theatre in North London rather than the West End.

Of course, she was also promoting her new theatre show, ironically called When It Happens To You, which is being staged at the lesser-known Park Theatre in North London rather than the West End.

The piece is about “not letting one terrible event define the rest of your life,” she said — hardly advice she’s taken to heart.

The interviewer noted that a “crying” Abbington looked “mentally broken.”

Then we saw her ‘exclusive’ interview with the Sun on Sunday, which took up two pages inside the article and even made the front page: ‘Gio comes as a shock, Strictly’s Amanda Abbington breaks silence on ‘cruel, abusive and mean’ Giovanni Pernice.’

This pre-planned self-promotion prior to the BBC’s verdict is not only surprising but also unprofessional and downright selfish to say the least.

Abbington is also scheduled to appear on ITV’s Lorraine on Thursday, but she will be interviewed by Christine Lampard, who is standing in for Lorraine Kelly this week. The appearance will give her a chance to tell her side of the story to the show’s 1.2 million viewers, who are predominantly women.

It’s a smart move because it could happen the day after the BBC report is published. If the verdict goes in Gio’s favour instead of Amanda, she can limit the damage.

As the Mail’s Katie Hind revealed on Monday, BBC bosses are “furious” with the actress, who is encouraging other former candidates with historical grievances to back her.

“Amanda seems to be doing everything she can to ensure there is a dark cloud hanging over Strictly,” Katie was told.

Perhaps Abbington is being driven by the fear of losing her battle with Gio. As one BBC insider put it: ‘It doesn’t seem like there’s a smoking gun in her complaint against Giovanni.’

Others suggest he will be completely cleared of any wrongdoing.

‘Amanda clearly feels aggrieved by all of this and she is getting ahead of herself in case the verdict doesn’t go the way she wants.’

Perhaps she is trying to launch her revenge campaign first by speaking out so openly before the BBC investigation is complete, thus portraying herself as a victim.

All of this baffles me. If Amanda is so convinced of her cause, why would she break all normal protocols to expose her victimhood to any medium willing to give her the time of day?

That is certainly the message she has conveyed in her interviews. Poor Amanda, brazen Gio. Hasn’t she already given all that evidence to the investigation?

What worries me most about the Strictly debacle is that the show has been portrayed by Abbington as a kind of bear pit where unhappy women are subjected to male bullying. A battle of the sexes from which Abbington has emerged a hardened warrior.

That’s all well and good, but like Amanda herself, who has been in showbusiness for 30 years, the Strictly celebrities are typically seasoned veterans of stage and screen, rather than naive types unused to the pressures of the rehearsal room.

It is also telling that Pernice, who denies all allegations against him, says he asked for his rehearsals with Abbington to be filmed because he was “concerned” about her ability to cope with the demands of what is undoubtedly a physically and emotionally challenging show.

Unlike shows such as Love Island and I’m A Celebrity, where candidates’ physical and mental fitness is thoroughly assessed before they are accepted, Strictly had no such screening system.

According to BBC insiders, a similar system will be introduced for the next series, which will celebrate Strictly’s 20th anniversary, and there will also be rehearsal supervisors and mental health workers.

All this comes too late for Amanda Abbington. Is the BBC failing in its duty of care by not even bothering to listen to the candid interview she gave to the Full Disclosure podcast in March last year, before she joined Strictly in September of that year?

Abbington, 50, revealed she had “contemplated suicide” following her split from her husband of 16 years, Sherlock star Martin Freeman, 52. And while he was in a relationship with a French actress named Rachel Martin, 30 – 20 years Abbington’s junior – she was left “hating herself”.

She also shared on the podcast that after an argument with her then-15-year-old daughter Grace, who was late for school, she had feelings of “anger and fear” and “as I was sitting there, driving, in my mind — and I haven’t said this since I started therapy six years ago — ‘You can always kill yourself.'”

She added: ‘That was my mantra back in the day. If you let people down and upset someone, or if you don’t put your best foot forward… you can always kill yourself.’

Before joining Strictly, Abbington also posted that her beloved father was “really ill” and in hospital. “So there’s a lot of anxiety and I’m a pretty anxious person.”

If I could have found Abbington’s ‘suicide’ podcast interview in a matter of minutes via a simple Google search, surely the BBC’s Strictly team could have done so too?

And the worst was yet to come for Amanda. Two months after finding love again with daredevil stuntman Jonathan Goodwin, 43, he was left paralyzed from the waist down after falling 30 feet when a stunt went wrong, leaving him permanently confined to a wheelchair.

That’s quite a trauma for one woman to deal with, let alone one who also has to deal with the inevitable stresses that come with taking part in Strictly.

Which brings us to the question posed by a BBC insider as the verdict in the Amanda v. Gio case approaches: ‘Why is Amanda Abbington so determined to kill Strictly?’

Maybe it’s because if you can’t love yourself, how can you love a show that involved so much trauma?