Amanda Abbington says Strictly Giovanni Pernice probe 'not over' as she reveals next move

BBC could be facing a lawsuit after apologising to Amanda Abbington following a number of her allegations against Strictly partner Giovanni Pernice being upheld

Amanda Abbington is reportedly set to sue the BBC after the findings were revealed in the company's bullying probe.

A review into ­allegations by the Sherlock actress against Giovanni Pernice saw six out of 17 complaints upheld - with the BBC issuing an apology.

Last night The Mirror revealed one of the upheld complaints told how Giovanni grabbed his crotch and uttered a lewd remark, and also told his dance partner that he “wanted to f*** her”. A source close to Giovanni claimed: “This was all done in jest and perceived in this way by Amanda."

Amanda is now considering her next steps and considering taking legal action against the corporation. Amanda has since told The Sun: "I want to take the time to consider the report in detail with my advisers before deciding what happens next."

The BBC said in their apology: "We have assessed the complaints and we have upheld some, but not all, of the complaints made. 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."

The findings in the 30-page report are said to have been seen as "vindication" by the actress, while Giovanni also appeared to be happy with the outcome. He released a statement on Instagram saying he was glad it was "over".

In his video statement, he told his followers: "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."

The probe found he used swear words and “belittling” language and gave negative feedback to his former dance partner. Among the upheld complaints were claims of “isolated incidents where Giovanni swore or threw his hands in the air”.

One part of the review told how the dancer grabbed his crotch and uttered a lewd remark, and also told his dance partner that he “wanted to f*** her”. However, a source close to Giovanni said: "This was all done in jest and perceived in this way by Amanda. They were intended as jokes and compliments of her dancing style. Her language could be just as course back.”

A source close to Amanda told the Mirror that her version of events during their training had been backed by other people. They said: “This is ­corroborated by a number of different people, ex-contestants, dancers, choreographers. It is not an insignificant number of people who have supported her. She is relieved as many thought it would be a massive fudge. A lot of people thought it shouldn’t be an internal investigation at all but given to an external body to consider.”

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