Strictly Come Dancing star Amanda Abbington has reportedly “demanded footage of rehearsals with Giovanni Pernice” after she was allegedly “diagnosed with PTSD”.
The 51-year-old had been partnered with professional dancer Giovanni during her time on the show.
An on-set source has now revealed to The Sun, that the actress has now allegedly taken legal advice and believes that securing the tapes could support her claims about the Italian dancer’s alleged behaviour towards her.
The insider 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.”
“Giovanni is a perfectionist and he can be incredibly full-on.”
This comes after a friend of the star claimed it has taken months for the Mr Selfridge actress 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.”
“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.”
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,” they concluded.
Amanda was notably absent from the show’s finale on December 16.
A source has told The Sun: “There was a lot of talk on set about Amanda’s notable absence from the finale.”
“It seemed unfair that Nigel was invited back and she wasn’t.”
“I imagine she was upset by the snub as it would have been nice to have seen her return for one last dance, especially as she was so popular on the show and well-liked by viewers.”
The actress recently shared a post from a Strictly viewer and fan on her Instagram stories which read: “I was truly distraught with her sudden departure from the show.”
Amanda added her own caption, replying: “Thank you angel. So was I.”
Goss.ie has reached out to the BBC and a representative for Amanda and Giovanni for comment.
