Giovanni Pernice has revealed he and Amanda Abbington asked to be partnered on Strictly Come Dancing.

The dancer claims he met Amanda in the “speed dating” process of the show, during which celebrities rotate around the professionals for a quick dance and chat. The 34-year-old performer said he asked producers if he could be paired with the actress because he thought she was a great dancer.

And, he claims Amanda had asked for him too and so the show’s bosses agreed to pair them for last year’s series. However, Giovanni’s joy quickly turned into a nightmare in the second week of training, when another celebrity contestant allegedly told Giovanni that Amanda had been sending messages into their WhatsApp group saying she was unhappy with their training.

“I’ve still got [Amanda’s] messages. They say: ‘Thank you so much for your patience today, you’re an incredible teacher,’ so I just thought it was all great,” Giovanni, born in Palermo, Italy, said.

“Then one of the celebrities came to me and said, ‘You didn’t have a great week, did you?’ I was like, ‘What are you talking about?’ But Amanda had told them she had a horrible week – and that was week one, before the show had even started.”

Amanda
The Sherlock actress was partnered with the Italian dancer on the BBC One show last year ( 
Image:
ITV News)
Amanda, known for her role in Mr Selfridge, quit the show on October 23, 2023. Giovanni told Mail Online he was then fearful Amanda might tell others what he described as untruths about their time in the studios. So he took it upon himself to film their sessions – initially without her knowing.

Giovanni continued: “That was the first time I knew that I had to take some action – so I asked for chaperones and cameras in the room. I started to record myself on my phone. Obviously we were dancing and I wanted to see the video back but at the same time, I did it to protect myself. I told the production team I was doing it because I didn’t feel comfortable in the room, I didn’t feel safe.

“At that point, I didn’t think she was going to accuse me of anything – but she was saying one thing to me and something else to others on the WhatsApp group. She was telling two different versions of the story. They told me not to [film rehearsals] anymore but that they were going to do it instead.”

Amanda, however, later insisted it was her who asked for the rehearsals to be filmed. Giovanni does not deny that he is a demanding teacher – and that at first, he thought he and Amanda were good enough to make the final.

So when in October – Week Six of the show – he received a call from the production team to say that Amanda had quit, he says he was “gutted”. Amanda had, Giovanni believes, been trying for some months to engage in a trial by media after she quit the show nearly one year ago.