Amanda Abbington says 'we just couldn't' as she shares reason behind Martin Freeman split

Actress Amanda Abbington has spoken out after the BBC confirmed the results of an internal investigation into her claims against her former Strictly Come Dancing partner Giovanni Pernice

Before her Strictly Come Dancing woes, Amanda Abbington faced a heartbreaking ordeal that severely impacted her mental health. In a recent interview, the star discussed the outcome of the BBC's internal investigation into allegations she made against her former dance partner Giovanni Pernice.

After a six-month probe into Amanda's claims, the bosses concluded that the Italian dancer had not physically abused her but did validate her complaints about verbal bullying and harassment. Giovanni, who is no longer part of the show, has consistently refuted the allegations and recently expressed his relief on social media that 'it's over'.

The Sherlock actress opened up to Victoria Derbyshire about the accusations she made against her former Strictly partner, describing the past year as one of 'the worst' in her life. Amanda has also previously shared details about another challenging time in her life, which followed her painful separation from fellow actor Martin Freeman, best known for his role as Tim in The Office.

The pair first met on the set of the 2000 film Men Only and went on to collaborate on several projects over the years, including The Debt, The Good Night, and The Robinsons, with their onscreen chemistry earning praise from critics. Most notably, the ex-couple portrayed husband and wife Dr John Watson and Mary Morstan in the popular BBC drama Sherlock, featuring Benedict Cumberbatch as a modern-day Detective Sherlock Holmes.

Amanda and Martin had built a life behind the scenes in Hertfordshire, where they raised their two children: Joe, now 18, and Grace, 16. However, despite what appeared to be a perfect relationship, it collapsed in 2016, severely affecting Amanda's mental health, reports the Mirror.

She has been candid about the break up before, disclosing that the couple managed to keep their split hidden for half a year while still working together on Sherlock. In a heartfelt interview with The Sunday Times Magazine, she said: "When we broke up nobody knew, we didn't tell anybody except for a few key people because they had to know, because of the logistics of hotels and stuff. It took six months for it to get out and a lot of that was while we were working on Sherlock... We were professional and we were going to get on and make a show and be civil to each other."

She further remarked: "We still get on really well, we still really both admire each other as actors... he's a great guy, but we just couldn't live with each other anymore."

More recently, the mother of two has shared how deeply the separation impacted her emotional well-being, admitting to Full Disclosure podcast listeners that she felt like a 'mess' and endured self-loathing. The burden became so overwhelming that at one point, suicide seemed to be a contemplation for the actress.

"It was breaking up with Martin and then realising I needed to sort myself out because I was a bit of a mess. I hated myself," she explained. Amanda went on to recall how after the split she felt like she'd let people down, and her mantra became "You could always kill yourself".

She continued: "That was a genuine option for me, quite a few times in my life. Then I don't have to be this bad person because I don't have to be here anymore."

Fortunately, Amanda sought therapy and managed to navigate through her emotional turmoil. She is now joyfully engaged to ex-stunt performer Jonathan Goodwin, whom she connected with on Twitter in 2021.

After years of online and phone conversations, they finally met face-to-face in Vienna, where Jonathan proposed within moments of their meeting. Their romance faced a harsh setback when Jonathan suffered paralysis following a stunt gone awry on America's Got Talent: Extreme.

During an interview on Loose Women last year, Jonathan spoke openly about his ordeal and mentioned that he would have understood if Amanda had decided to leave him. However, leaving was never in Amanda's thoughts.

She remembered telling Jonathan, as he said they had 'a lot to talk about', that unless it concerned their wedding, there was nothing to discuss. She affirmed: "Breaking up never flashed through my mind. I just thanked God he was alive."

Amanda's former partner Martin has found new romance with French actress Rachel Benaissa, notable for her appearance in the acclaimed BBC series Normal People, which saw actors Daisy Edgar-Jones and Paul Mescal achieve international recognition. Following a recent Newsnight segment that delved into the Strictly Come Dancing controversy, Amanda claimed that while some of her grievances were acknowledged, there was a "significant reason" why others were dismissed.

Her team is now conducting an in-depth investigation. .

During the discussion, Victoria brought attention to the thoughts expressed by Sarah Vine in a Daily Mail article concerning Amanda: "Women like Abbington are part of the reason other women find themselves in genuinely awful and much more serious situations don't get taken seriously."

In response, Amanda expressed her dismay stating: "I'm always shocked when women throw other women under the bus for standing up for something they think is wrong but ok."

Amanda spoke about the flurry of support she received from the public for taking a stand: "I've had so many women come up to me since making this complaint thanking me for being brave enough to stand up and complain about something that was impacting me in a work situation."

She added that her actions also intended to support those who have faced similar issues: "I also did it for the women before me who had gone through the same thing. I'm not the isolated person - it hasn't only happened to me".

Furthermore, Victoria read aloud a previous comment by Giovanni, where he stated to Newnight: "We are unable to comment any further and the BBC has asked both parties to respect confidentiality."

Taking to Instagram on the night of September 30, Giovanni addressed his supporters, saying: "It was difficult because, you know, reading stuff that were untrue, wasn't the nicest time of my life let's be honest. But today I'm happy because, you know, at the beginning there were very very serious allegations thrown out at me but as in today, none of the serious allegations have been upheld. All the threatening, abusive, harassment behaviour allegations have not been upheld."

Following this, the BBC made a statement about the situation: "Strictly Come Dancing is a family show and we rightly expect very high standards. While competition can be tough, rigorous and demanding, we want the show to ultimately be a joyous and transformative experience."

"It is a great shame if this hasn't been the case for everyone who has appeared on the show. We have assessed the complaints and we have upheld some, but not all. We want to apologise to Amanda Abbington and to thank her for coming forward and taking part. We know this would not have been an easy thing to do."