BBC Apologizes to ‘Sherlock’ Actor Over ‘Strictly Come Dancing’ Bullying Allegations, Upholds Some Complaints
The BBC has apologized to “Sherlock” actor Amanda Abbington after upholding some of her complaints regarding bullying on competition series “Strictly Come Dancing.”
“Strictly,” the U.K. equivalent of “Dancing With the Stars,” is one of the broadcaster’s most popular and longest-running formats. But it has been mired in controversy former contestants, including Abbington, claimed they had been bullied and harassed on the show.
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The BBC said it would investigate after Abbington made specific allegations regarding her dance partner Giovanni Pernice. Now the corporation has confirmed it has “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,” the statement continued. “We know this would not have been an easy thing to do.”
Earlier this summer Abbington said she was still suffering from PTSD after taking part in the show for four weeks before dropping out due to a combination of ill-health and bullying. At the time, Pernice, who has since been dropped from the show, denied the allegations.
“It wasn’t what I expected it to be,” she said of her experience on the show, adding that after she initially made producers aware of Pernice’s behaviour they set up cameras in the rehearsal room so they could review the footage. At the time, Abbington also said she hasn’t ruled out suing the BBC.
Another of last year’s contestants, influencer Zara McDermott, also revealed that her professional dance partner, Graziano Di Prima, had kicked her during rehearsals. He has since been sacked.
Variety has reached out to Giovanni Pernice’s reps for comment.
Read the BBC’s full statement below:
The BBC has now concluded its review into the complaints made by Amanda Abbington against Giovanni Pernice. We take any allegations of bullying and harassment very seriously and this review has taken time due to its complex nature and our desire to ensure a rigorous and robust process was undertaken.
“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, 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.
At the time, although the production team took steps to address the issues as they understood them, ultimately these were not enough. This is why the measures we have taken to further strengthen our existing protocols are so important.
The BBC heard from a number of individuals in making its findings. We want to thank them for participating.
The BBC has already taken extensive steps to enhance our duty of care for everyone on the show and a full note of these steps is published alongside this statement.
Duty of Care Measures:
The BBC and BBC Studios takes duty of care extremely seriously. We want Strictly to be a positive experience for everyone involved.
That is why our welfare and support processes on “Strictly” are kept under constant review and updated each year.
In July we introduced new measures for training and rehearsals, which are in place for this year’s show. These included a production team member present during training room rehearsals at all times; two new roles on the show dedicated to welfare support – a Celebrity Welfare Producer and a Professional Dancer Welfare Producer (both started work in August); and additional training for the professional dancers, production team and crew.
In addition we introduced 15 training room observers in place for rehearsals. They complete daily training logs – including covering breaks, warm-ups and rest periods.
From the start of the series we have put in place weekly welfare meetings with the show’s senior team, the BBC’s editorial policy advisor and the BBC’s Duty of Care Executive. These meetings include a review of all the daily training logs
Every celebrity and pro dancer is offered a pre-series psychological review. They complete ‘wellbeing questionnaires’ with the welfare producers and talk about the type of experience the celebrity would like on the show and expectations of training from both sides.
Everyone working on “Strictly,” in front and behind camera, has attended workshops addressing the culture of the show and expected behaviour.
Building on previous protocols, there is a formal exit interview process for all involved as they leave the show, which will be logged and documented.
These new measures build on longstanding processes and procedures on the show. We will always look at whether there is more we should do.
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