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STRICTLY BUST-UP
Strictly bombshell as Amanda Abbington demands backstage footage of her and Giovanni as she is diagnosed with PTSD
Another contestant admitted she 'cried every day' while training with Giovanni on the show
STRICTLY star Amanda Abbington has demanded footage of her rehearsals with partner Giovanni Pernice following clashes between the pair.
The actress, 51, is keen to review the recordings following her departure from the show as she takes legal advice.
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She believes the hours of their practice tapes could support her claims about the pro dancer’s alleged behaviour towards her.
The Sherlock star quit the show in October citing medical reasons — and a source has revealed she has since been diagnosed with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder.
It comes after her time with 33-year-old Giovanni, who is regarded as a “perfectionist”, was blighted by a series of rows.
An on-set source said: “The BBC have received a request for the footage they hold of Amanda and Giovanni. It is known as a data subject access request. There is a feeling that the recordings will lift the lid on what really goes on behind the scenes on Strictly. Things in rehearsals can become very tense.
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“Giovanni is a perfectionist and he can be incredibly full-on.”
A pal claimed it has taken months for Mr Selfridge actress Amanda to recover from her time on the dance show.
They said: “Amanda has been left broken and saddened by the whole experience. She has needed therapy and was left in shock by the behaviour she was exposed to.
“It has taken her months to get over what she went through. It was a real shock as she was initially so excited to sign up to the show to learn to dance, but instead she experienced an ordeal.
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“Everyone else was having a fabulous time, but she was really stressed by having to spend eight hours a day with Giovanni. She spent a lot of time crying and couldn’t sleep or eat properly.”
There was still no escape after her departure, the friend claimed.
They continued: “She was also receiving a lot of negativity on social media for not mentioning Giovanni in her exit message, which took its toll mentally.
“Thankfully, family and friends have rallied around her and she is focusing on future projects and trying to put the whole nightmare behind her.”
Before she left on October 21, the couple’s live performances were greeted positively by the judges and the viewing public, and Amanda was regarded as one of the favourites for the Glitterball Trophy.
At the time, it was reported they initially clashed over an intense training schedule, with Amanda struggling with the Italian’s “aggressive training style and attitude”.
A source said Amanda met producers to tell them she was finding the rehearsal process difficult.
Last weekend, the Sun on Sunday revealed how Strictly bosses did not invite Amanda back to perform in the show’s finale — unlike actor Nigel Harman, who also pulled out for medical reasons.
Sicilian-born Giovanni, who won in 2021 alongside EastEnders actress Rose Ayling-Ellis, had also reportedly fallen out with some of his previous celebrity partners.
In 2016, ex-Love Island presenter Laura Whitmore admitted she “cried every day” and felt “uncomfortable” while training with him.
Giovanni had just split from Laura’s friend, ex-Coronation Street actress Georgia May Foote.
Laura said she had inadvertently ended up in “the middle of someone’s break-up”.
She later wrote: “I’m still not ready to talk in depth about my experience on the show.
“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.”
In another interview, she added: “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.”
Giovanni was also reported to have “feuded” with TV and radio presenter Richie Anderson in 2022.
He is also said to have not got on with Good Morning Britain star Ranvir Singh in 2020.
Amanda, who has two kids with Hobbit actor ex Martin Freeman, is now engaged to Britain’s Got Talent stuntman Jonathan Goodwin.
She said in a previous interview: “I had fancied him for a few years. I was filming in Vienna and had a little downtime. I was like a giddy schoolgirl, constantly messaging him while he was at work.”
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A BBC spokeswoman declined to comment.
The Sun on Sunday approached Amanda for comment.
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