Amanda Abbington has doubled down on claims her Strictly Come Dancing partner Giovanni Pernice displayed ‘bullying’ behaviour during their time on the show.

The actress, 51, left the BBC show halfway through its 2023 edition before accusing the professional of ‘unnecessary, cruel and mean behaviour’ in July last year.

Giovanni rejected the claims immediately and a BBC investigation ruled in September that her claims of physical aggression and threatening behaviour were not upheld.

Complaints of verbal bullying and harassment meant the corporation issued an apology but the dancer said he was ‘pleased the report has not found any evidence of threatening or abusive behaviour’.

Now Amanda has reiterated her criticism of Giovanni, telling White Wine Question Time: ‘I just felt I wasn’t being treated fairly in that room.’

In the wake of her accusations, she faced heavy backlash from the public, with the Sherlock star noting that she was subjected to ’20 to 30 death threats a day’.

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Amanda Abbington has doubled down on claims her Strictly Come Dancing partner Giovanni Pernice displayed inappropriate behaviour during their time on the show (pictured in March)

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The actress left the contest halfway through its 2023 edition before accusing him of ‘unnecessary, cruel and mean behaviour’ (pictured, with Giovanni in September 2023)

Giovanni walked away from his glitzy spot in the dancing competition last spring while the BBC investigated the allegations made towards him by Amanda.

When BBC bosses published their report into Giovanni’s behaviour, it cleared him of the most serious allegations of physical aggression, but upheld verbal bullying and harassment.

The BBC apologised to the former Sherlock actress and also thanked her for coming forward to raise her grievances.

Amanda recently admitted that she’s unsure if people still ‘like’ her anymore as she opened up on her future following the Giovanni bullying row.

She reflected on the aftermath, remarking that she was made out to be the ‘villain’ in it all, before insisting that she has ‘no regrets’ about standing up for herself.

While Giovanni’s career appears to be back on track, with the dancer having recently won the Italian version of Strictly, Amanda has thrown herself into a somewhat less high-profile role in the play (This Is Not A) Happy Room – playing to a more intimate audience in a theatre behind a north London pub.

She said in a recent Times interview that she looked forward to the future and told how she would love to continue acting and even turn to directing down the line, but she isn’t sure of the public opinion of her following the tough period in her life.

Amanda shared: ‘I don’t know what the industry thinks of me at the moment. I’ve been immersed in the aftermath of it all for a year.

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Giovanni rejected the claims immediately and a BBC investigation ruled in September that her claims of physical aggression and threatening behaviour were not upheld

‘I don’t know whether I’ve been cancelled or whether people don’t like me any more, but I know I did what I did for the right reasons. I feel good about the future.’

During the chat, she looked back on being in the thick of the furore in which Giovanni accused her of trying to destroy his career.

However, Amanda insisted she was trying to suggest that they have a ‘safe space’ to ‘take five minutes’ to ensure they were all ‘happy’.

She added: ‘The fallout from it wasn’t something I was anticipating, but I’m glad I did it, I am. I’m glad that I stood up for myself because it’s the first time I’ve ever really done that.’