- Amanda Abbington suddenly left the series last year, citing 'personal reasons'
<!–
<!–
<!– <!–
<!–
<!–
<!–
BBC bosses are baffled by Amanda Abbington's request for footage of her Strictly rehearsals – after she claimed her time on the show left her with PTSD.
The 51-year-old former contestant suddenly ended last year's series, citing “personal reasons.”
It was reported that she had quit after clashing with her dance partner Giovanni Pernice, 33, but she dismissed claims of consequences at the time.
But now Ms Abbington is said to want to review recordings of their time together while she seeks legal advice over the dancer's alleged behavior towards her, believing video footage could 'support' her claims.
Sources at the BBC are ready to take the Sherlock actress to task over her claims the show traumatized her, saying she told them at the time she was quitting for another medical reason.
A source told the Mail: 'Amanda's reason for quitting Strictly was a completely different reason than her PTSD.
'She told production about a completely different medical condition and they were very supportive and did everything they could to help.
“Nobody seems to quite understand what's going on here.”
Abbington and Pernice during their Saturday performance on BBC1's Strictly Come Dancing live show last year, before the former contestant's sudden departure
Amanda Abbington and Giovanni Pernice rehearsed last year. The Sherlock star now says she has left due to PTSD and has demanded footage of her rehearsals
It is understood the first BBC chiefs were aware of her PTSD late last year when they received a request for the tapes.
Additional confusion has arisen as Ms Abbington quickly shot down suggestions – made before the show aired in September – that she and Pernice had had a falling out.
On Instagram, she dismissed the claims as “bulls****” and told people: “Shut up, they're b******s.”
During broadcasts, she and Pernice – who has worked on the show since 2015 – were seen hugging each other and appeared to be friends.
A Strictly source said: 'All you saw in the studio was them hugging and kissing.'
Ms Abbington left the show in week five of October. It reportedly took her months to recover from her time in the program and apparently required therapy due to the “behavior she was exposed to.”
A source told The Sun: 'Everyone had a fantastic time but she was very stressed having to spend eight hours a day with Giovanni. She cried a lot and couldn't sleep or eat properly.'
The partners are said to have clashed for weeks during rehearsals, with the actress left 'affected' by the professional dancer's 'militant and aggressive' training style.
Pernice is known as a 'perfectionist' and it is not the first time that Pernice has had problems with his famous partners. In 2016, TV host Laura Whitmore said: 'I'm still not ready to talk in depth about my experiences on the show.
'I was placed with a dance partner who made me extremely uncomfortable and ended up feeling broken, I cried every day. And by the end I was really broken, both mentally and physically.”
Strictly Come Dancing star Amanda Abbington has reportedly demanded bosses hand over footage of her rehearsals with Giovanni Pernice after they clashed while working together
Amanda reposted a fan's comment on her Instagram Stories. The Strictly viewer said: 'I was really distraught by her sudden departure from the show'
In 2020, Pernice fell out with Good Morning Britain presenter Ranvir Singh as she admitted she had a 'total meltdown' during rehearsals with him.
The ITV presenter told her co-star Kate Garraway that she and the dancer had a '20-minute separation' as things got tense during training.
She said the grueling rehearsals prompted her to walk outside and take a moment to collect herself after Pernice “put me in my place.”
Ms Abbington has been contacted for comment. Pernice declined to comment.