Amanda Abbington recalls ‘tough and horrible’ experience on Strictly

Amanda Abbington has said her time on Strictly Come Dancing was “tough and horrible” as she recalled that she would vomit and cry at home after rehearsals.

The actress, best known for playing Mary Watson in BBC drama Sherlock, withdrew from the celebrity dance competition last year before week six citing “personal reasons”.

Her dance partner on the show, Giovanni Pernice, is currently being investigated by the BBC following allegations of abusive or threatening behaviour, which he has strongly rejected.

Last month show bosses confirmed the Italian dancer will not return for the show’s forthcoming 20th anniversary series amid the allegations.

Speaking to The Sunday Times, Abbington said: “I’ve had the worst experience. The show was tough and horrible, but the aftermath of it I was not expecting.

“It’s been really brutal and it just hasn’t stopped.”

Reflecting on her experience after the show, the actress added: “It’s been awful, just relentless.

“Death threats and rape threats for just standing up for something that I thought was wrong.”

Abbington said her fiance escapologist Jonathan Goodwin has been a great support to her during this time and would reassure her of what she went through when she began to doubt herself.

She recalled: “He’d go, ‘Yes, you would come home and you’d vomit, you’d cry, and you’d think you were not good enough. You were a shadow, a shell’.”

Pernice, 33, who has been on the BBC One celebrity dancing show since 2015, said in a statement posted on his Instagram in May: “I reject any suggestion of abusive or threatening behaviour, and I look forward to clearing my name.

“Those who have followed my journey on Strictly Come Dancing over the last decade will know that I am passionate and competitive. No-one is more ambitious for my dance partners than me.

“I have always striven to help them be the very best dancers they can be. This has always come from a place of love and wanting to win – for me and my dance partners.”

Abbington said the idea that she is a “monster who’s trying to destroy somebody’s career is just laughable” to her as she explained why she spoke out.

She said: “I didn’t want to cause anyone any harm. I’m not a vindictive person. I’m not a cruel person or hateful.

“But when I’m in a rehearsal room, I make sure that it’s a place where everyone feels safe and feels like they’re having a nice time.

“And that courtesy wasn’t extended to me.”

Abbington is emerging back into acting again, with her new project an adaptation of When It Happens To You, an autobiographical play written by Tawni O’Dell, which will be staged at the north London Park Theatre.

She will play a mother who is trying to hold her family together after a devastating event changes the course of their lives.

The actress said she felt encouraged to do the play after her recent experience, saying: “If women don’t stand up for women, what hope do we have?”

The BBC and representative for Giovanni Pernice have been contacted for comment.