Strictly’s Giovanni Pernice claims only point of Amanda Abbington allegations ‘were to destroy me’
Giovanni Pernice thinks that the only point of allegations made by his Strictly dancing partner Amanda Abbington were to destroy him and his career.
The 34-year-old Italian professional dancer has been responding to complaints of verbal bullying and harassment made by the actress, who pulled out of the show last year.
The BBC upheld “some, but not all” of the allegations, with Abbington describing an apology from the corporation as a “vindication”, while Pernice denied displaying “abusive or threatening behaviour”.
Speaking on ITV’s Lorraine, Pernice described his relief that the most serious allegations were thrown out.
“Yes, six has been upheld but 11 hasn’t been upheld, which is again, the most serious were not,” he said.
He added: “When it comes to that one upheld we got some allegation of verbal bullying, as we say, I adapt with the person that will go in front of me, and vice versa.
“If you’re in the room and we decide one sort of relationship within us two, I feel safe at that time, we were OK with it and was fine. Never been a difficulty of ‘Please don’t say this to me’. And the other allegation, that was me being frustrated, which I recognise.”
In a separate interview with the Mail+, he described how he “wanted to punch the television” when he heard Abbington in a Channel 4 interview claim the allegations against him were of a “sexual nature” – claims which were not upheld by the BBC.
He told the news site: “It was the first time there was talk of anything sexual. Of course, I was worried it could destroy my career – the people that come to my shows are kids and women.
“I was painted as a person I am not. It seemed like the only point was to destroy me.”
Pic: PA
Appearing on Lorraine, hosted by Christine Lampard, Pernice was asked about his methods during rehearsals. He said: “I wouldn’t change my teaching style because, in my opinion, it’s a profession, dancing is a very difficult thing to do.
“It’s a difficult discipline, and for me, teaching, the way I teach, is the successful way to approach this. Yes, you could change the approach, but not changing the teaching style.”
Pernice, who was not announced as part of this year’s Strictly lineup, has since joined the Italian edition.
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What next for Strictly after BBC apology?
In 2021, he lifted the Strictly glitterball trophy alongside EastEnders star Rose Ayling-Ellis – the first deaf contestant to win. He also reached the final in 2017 with Debbie McGee and in 2018 with Faye Tozer.
This year the show brought in changes, including the presence of chaperones during rehearsals, following a number of allegations.
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In July, Strictly professional dancer, Graziano Di Prima confirmed he was leaving Strictly amid reports of alleged misconduct. Separately Laura Whitmore alleged ‘inappropriate behaviour’ during her time on the show.
Last week Welsh opera singer Wynne Evans said he was “heartbroken” over suggestions he made his professional dance partner Katya Jones “uncomfortable” during one episode.
A BBC spokesperson later told Sky News “their interactions were silly jokes”.
Entertainment
Victoria Beckham presented with a Harper’s Bazaar women of the year prize from daughter Harper
Victoria Beckham shared a sweet moment on stage with her daughter, Harper, as she collected a Harper’s Bazaar women of the year award.
The fashion designer and Spice Girls star was recognised with an entrepreneur prize for her “innovation and dedication to the British and global fashion industry”.
Her daughter Harper presented the award on stage, organisers said, and the pair were pictured together before the event.
The 13-year-old, who is the youngest of Victoria and David Beckham‘s four children, has previously attended fashion events with her mum, as well as the premiere of her football star dad’s Netflix documentary, released last year.
Singer Raye and actresses Nicola Coughlan, Sophie Turner and Ambika Mod were also among the stars honoured at the Harper’s Bazaar Women Of The Year ceremony, held at Claridge’s Hotel in London.
Dame Jilly Cooper was cheered on by her Rivals stars Aidan Turner (top left), Alex Hassell (right) and Bella Maclean. Pic: Dave Bennett/ Harper’s Bazaar
Author Dame Jilly Cooper was presented with her prize by Poldark star Aidan Turner, who stars in the current hit Disney+ adaptation of her book, Rivals. His co-stars Bella Maclean and Alex Hassell were also there to show support for the writer – who was honoured for “her extraordinary half-century contribution to literature”, organisers said.
Killing Eve and Silo star Dame Harriet Walter, 74, was given the icon award for her long-running career in theatre, film and TV. The gong was presented by Brian Cox, who played her former husband, the fearsome Logan Roy, in the hit series Succession.
Nicola Coughlan was presented with her television actress of the year award by her Bridgerton co-star Golda Rosheuvel. Pic: Dave Benett/ Harper’s Bazaar
On the red carpet, Dame Harriet said she hoped to “represent all the other older women who are still good at their job”. She added: “I feel very lucky and if I can inspire anybody to keep going and believe in themselves, that’s a good thing.”
Actors Jodie Comer, Golda Rosheuvel and Paapa Essiedu, and Love Island host Maya Jama were among the stars presenting awards at the event.
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Lydia Slater, the editor-in-chief of Harper’s Bazaar UK, said: “We are hugely privileged to have presented the Women Of The Year Awards to this esteemed group of winners, all of whom have left us inspired by their trailblazing, impactful contribution and dedication to their respective fields.”
Artist Rana Begum, designer Francesca Amfitheatrof, and Olympian Katarina Johnson also received awards at the ceremony.
Glastonbury is changing the way fans can buy tickets for the world-famous festival.
While the booking process itself will remain the same, the way people join it is different.
Organisers warned hopefuls to log in “at least a few minutes” before the sale opens on 14 November, to avoid refreshing the page and not to attempt to game the system by using multiple devices.
Fans must be registered by 5pm GMT on Monday 11 November.
Tickets for the annual event at Worthy Farm in Somerset cost £373.50 plus a £5 booking fee, and are sold exclusively through the See Tickets website, with no third-party sellers involved.
The sale follows chaos earlier this year when tickets for the Oasis reunion went on sale, seeing a multitude of disappointed fans as well as those who felt cheated after being charged hundreds of pounds more for their tickets than was originally advertised.
The festival website explains: “Rather than refreshing the holding page to attempt to access the booking page, this year, when the ticket sale begins (at 6pm or 9am respectively) everyone who is already on the glastonbury.seetickets.com page will randomly be assigned a place in a queue to access the booking process.
“Anyone who logs on once the sale has started will automatically be added to the back of the queue, so it’s important to make sure you are online ready at least a few minutes before the sale opens.
“Once you are in the queue, a progress bar will indicate how close you are to reaching the booking page.
“Please do not refresh this page or use multiple devices or tabs or you may lose your place in the queue.”
Pic: Glastonbury Festival website
Once fans reach the front of the queue and enter their registration details, they will be able to purchase a maximum of six tickets – but they will not have long to do so.
The site warns: “You will have 10 minutes to complete this page before your session expires, however tickets are not allocated at this point.”
It also cautions: “Do not attempt to minimise the tab or open new tabs. If you move away from the tab you are on your session may expire”.
The advice also says that if the amount of traffic on the website is particularly high, users may see a “reduced version of the See Tickets booking site, with a minimal holding page”.
It adds: “This does not mean the site has crashed”.
The crowd at Coldplay’s 2024 headline set at Glastonbury Festival. Pic: PA
The site discourages users from using multiple devices to increase their chances of getting tickets, warning it could actively harm getting through.
It says: “Refreshing the page, using multiple tabs or many devices can look like suspicious behaviour and can harm your chances of getting through by triggering anti-bot software; therefore you must stick to one tab/device per IP address and please do not refresh your page once you are in the queue”.
One exception to the refresh rule is if the message, “All available tickets have now been allocated” pops up, at which point refreshing the page will mean any orders that haven’t been processed will go back on sale, and so may become available to buy.
Once the message “SOLD OUT” appears, it’s game over, and no more tickets will be released back for sale.
Festival-goers leaving this year’s event. Pic: PA
There will be another chance, however, when any returned tickets go on resale in the spring, offering festival fans a second bite of the cherry.
While next year’s acts won’t be announced until after tickets go on sale, Oasis have already ruled themselves out of performing, telling fans: “Despite media speculation, Oasis will not be playing Glastonbury 2025 or any other festivals next year. The only way to see the band perform will be on their Oasis Live ’25 World Tour.”
2026 is likely to be a fallow year for Glastonbury (a year off), with the festival traditionally taking place four out of every five years, and the fifth year reserved for rehabilitation of the land.
Glastonbury Festival takes place from 25 to 29 June 2025.
Taylor Swift has given a “friendly but extremely important reminder” to her American fans to vote in the presidential election.
The neck-and-neck race between Kamala Harris and Donald Trump – which is believed to be the closest since 2000 – has seen US stars throw their weight behind both candidates.
It had been widely speculated that Swift would appear at Ms Harris’s final rally in Pennsylvania – where the 34-year-old singer grew up.
However, the Shake It Off singer was at Arrowhead Stadium to support her boyfriend – NFL star Travis Kelce – who was playing for the Kansas City Chiefs in a game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
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Oprah Winfrey and Lady Gaga were the big names alongside Ms Harris at her final big event.
Keep up with all the latest news from the UK and around the world by following Sky News
Swift’s election reminder came in a post she shared on the eve of polling night, celebrating the wrap of the US leg of her Eras Tour, and sharing images from her last three gigs.
In the Instagram post, the singer wrote: “Thank you to everyone who came out to see us on our last three American shows.
“And here’s a friendly but extremely important reminder that tomorrow is the US election and your last chance to vote.”
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She will pick up her tour in Canada next week, with six shows in Toronto and three in Vancouver.
Her record-breaking shows – which have boosted the economy around the globe – will wrap on 8 December.
Swift publicly confirmed her support for Ms Harris in September, sharing the message on social media: “I believe we can accomplish so much more in this country if we are led by calm and not chaos.”
At the time, Swift also shared links to information on how to register to vote and find out early voting dates, reminding voters: “Your research is all yours to do, and the choice is yours to make”.
Shared with a photo of the star cuddling one of her beloved cats, she signed off her post “Childless Cat Lady,” in a nod to Republican vice-presidential candidate JD Vance’s now infamous 2021 remarks.
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