'He won't hold back and there's nothing she can do about it': Amanda Abbington's new nightmare revealed as insiders tell KATIE HIND all about Giovanni Pernice's brutal revenge plan... and why it's set to torpedo her comeback

When actress Amanda Abbington excitedly signed up for Strictly Come Dancing exactly three years ago, she did so with the aims of both reviving her career and becoming a household name.The latter she most certainly managed to achieve – but not in the way she had planned.Her headline-grabbing fallout with her professional dance partner, heartthrob Giovanni Pernice, and the bitter feud that ensued after she officiallycomplained about the way he had allegedly treated her, led to a long-running BBC investigation.It certainly made sure that if no one had heard of her before, they had now.But unsurprisingly, the new-found fame did not realise her ambitions to kickstart her career and win back big television roles on primetime programmes, similar to the popular dramas such as Sherlock and Mr Selfridge in which she had previously starred.Instead, there were smaller, lower-profile roles such as a stint in the play (This is not a) Happy Room at the Kings Head Theatre in north London in 2025.But now, finally, Amanda, 54, is about to make a comeback. Almost two years after a review into her complaints saw Giovanni depart from Strictly – even though he was cleared of the most serious allegations she levelled at him – she has recently signed two dream roles. One is second lead in the Channel 4 drama Hunting Alice Bell, the other is a role in the next series of Apple TV hit Down Cemetery Road. Giovanni Pernice and Amanda Abbington were paired on Strictly Come Dancing in 2023 Amanda Abbington has signed a role as second lead in the Channel 4 drama Hunting Alice BellLately, life has been on the up in the Abbington household. In May her fiance, former stuntman and escapologist Jonathan Goodwin, settled his legal claim against the makers of America’s Got Talent for an undisclosed multi-million pound payout.The 46-year-old was left paralysed and nearly died after a horrifying accident in 2021 when he was crushed between two burning cars during rehearsals for America’s Got Talent: Extreme. He launched a legal action against makers Fremantle and the broadcaster NBCU in 2023, and compensation was agreed earlier this year.But the relief that this is now settled may be short-lived because Amanda’s worst nightmare is coming around the corner. In a candid autobiography by Giovanni, he will tell his side of the dispute which put an end to his nine-year run on Strictly where he was one of the show’s most loved dancers.In just a few weeks he will unveil Gio: Taking the Lead and I am told Amanda will feature in it ‘significantly’.‘Gio blames Amanda for putting an end to his Strictly career, and so do the viewers,’ says a source close to the dancer.‘Giovanni isn’t going out for violins, he isn’t like that. But the book will remind the public of the allegations, which surely won’t be helpful for Amanda when she’s reigniting her career. It’s like the ghost of Giovanni will be there, hanging over it. She’ll be fuming.’Indeed, there’s no doubt his memoirs will drag up the past that Amanda had almost certainly hoped was long behind her. In fact, those who know Giovanni and are familiar with the book’s contents, say it will ‘absolutely torpedo’ the actress’s comeback.‘Giovanni decided last year that he wanted to write a book,’ says my source. ‘He wants to share his side of things on the Amanda situation and he won’t hold back.‘It is literally the worst timing for Amanda – she has moved on from it and has got some good work. That’s about to have a huge black cloud over it while Gio goes on the promo trail. He hates that she made the complaints, he will have his say about that and will explain what she did to him, too. Gio takes the view that he had grounds to complain about her, but didn’t.’Sources say Giovanni, 35, will also raise the issue of why BBC bosses didn’t vet Amanda with enough rigour, believing had they done so the scandal wouldn’t have blown up in the same way. ‘Gio blames Amanda for putting an end to his Strictly career, and so do the viewers,’ says a source close to the dancer Sources say Giovanni will also raise the issue of why BBC bosses didn’t vet Amanda with enough rigour, believing had they done so the scandal wouldn’t have blown up in the same way'There is no way it won’t completely infuriate Amanda,’ says the source. ‘She never wanted Gio to have his say but now he will, across about 400 pages, and there is nothing she can do about it.’Giovanni and Amanda’s problems began just three weeks into the 2023 series of Strictly. It surprised Sicilian-born star Giovanni as he had been excited about being paired with Amanda having seen her at Strictly’s ‘speed dancing’ event where pros and celebrities share a short dance.He not only thought she was a talented ballroom star but also that it seemed she wanted to win – an attribute the ambitious Giovanni shares in spades.However, Amanda said she first raised concerns about Giovanni’s behaviour with Strictly producers on her third day of rehearsals, before eventually dropping out in week six, citing health issues (a breast cancer scare, for which she subsequently got the all-clear).Then came the claims that her dance partner was ‘abusive, mean and cruel’. She went on to lodge a formal complaint against him, accusing him of verbal bullying, harassment and inappropriate sexual behaviour during rehearsals. She also says he stamped on her foot, causing bruising.‘I couldn’t sit back and let him do that to other people,’ she said in an interview in 2024.Giovanni denied everything but was forced to stand down from the next series while the review took place. Meanwhile, he hit back, handing investigators a 28-minute audio tape of a conversation with the actress which his team believes proves that, far from bullying her, he was hugely supportive.During the audio clip, she told him that, if she were him, she ‘would have thrown me out of the window by now’ in an apparent acknowledgement that she can be difficult. Amanda also referred to how she ‘self-sabotages’, repeatedly mentioning how he has been a support to her and describes herself as a ‘nightmare’.But following a six-month BBC investigation, six of Amanda’s 17 complaints were upheld. Although Giovanni was cleared of physical aggression, they did find evidence of name-calling, a hostile environment and sexual innuendo, and it was confirmed Giovanni would not be returning to the show.While Giovanni was dragged through the mud in what he told me was the ‘hardest time of his life’, he won the battle for public sympathy. His team now hopes this will translate into book sales as he tells his side of the sorry saga.In the tantalising preamble for his autobiography, Giovanni says: ‘At 33, after a lifetime of striving to be the best dancer I could be, I was a man at the top of his game.‘Fresh from lifting the glitterball and winning a BAFTA, I was living my wildest dreams. This is a story of how quickly it can fall apart, and how, when it felt like everything was against me, I fought to find a way back and take the lead in my own life once more.’ Amanda said she first raised concerns about Giovanni’s behaviour with Strictly producers on her third day of rehearsals, before eventually dropping out in week six, citing health issues Giovanni with girlfriend Bianca Guaccero, enjoying a walk through PortofinoToday he’s still missed by Strictly’s millions of viewers. In fact, I’ve been inundated with letters from people who say they haven’t watched the show since his exit. Not only that, but his fans said they’d refuse to watch any programme Amanda appears in.I interviewed Giovanni just weeks after the BBC investigation. By then he’d returned to Italy where he joined Ballando con le Stelle, their version of Strictly. He won the series with his partner, the Italian actress Bianca Guaccero and the couple later started dating.During our three-hour meeting, Giovanni confided he always saw himself as innocent and was devastated he had caused so much upset for his family in Sicily.He had to try hard to hold back tears and I have no doubt the hurt he’s suffered will feel as acute again when Strictly returns to our screens without him this autumn.The show is back next month, with presenter Emma Willis, dancer Johannes Radebe and comedian Josh Widdicombe on hosting duties, replacing Claudia Winkleman and Tess Daly.The feel is very much fresh start, new beginnings. But, with Giovanni’s book – and in all likelihood Amanda’s fiery response – could the whiff of old scandals linger?