Shirley Ballas breaks silence on Strictly bullying investigation after BBC bosses warned to ‘rein in’ Giovanni support

SHIRLEY Ballas has broken her silence on the Strictly bullying investigation after Amanda Abbington spoke out again last night.

Head judge Shirley finally addressed the results after she had reportedly been ordered to rein in her support for Italian pro dancer Giovanni Pernice earlier this year.

Celebs including actress Amanda, and TV presenters Laura Whitmore and Ranvir Singh came forward with claims about Giovanni during a six month investigation.

The BBC this week apologised to Amanda, and upheld six of the 17 complaints made against the Italian dancer who quit the BBC show.

Following the result, Shirley spoke out for the first time on Wednesday – having previously branded Giovanni a “perfect gentleman” and defending his teaching technique.

She told The Mirror on Wednesday: “I don’t condone bullying – I’ve been through it myself.

It comes as…

• BBC apologises to Amanda Abbington over Strictly bullying scandal
• Amanda says she’s glad for apology but it isn’t enough
• Giovanni breaks silence after report clears him of almost all allegations
• Amanda reveals trolls said they’d kill her and sent her bomb threats

“So if things aren’t right or need addressing, I feel for the person that wants them addressed.

“And I think that’s a big, important part – that everybody gets to say their thing. But now the investigation is over and everybody can move on.”

Shirley broke her silence as Amanda took part in a surprise interview on Newsnight late last night and claimed Giovanni made a shocking sexual gesture to her.

In her first interview since the findings of a BBC investigation into Giovanni’s conduct on the programme was released, Amanda shared new details of her experience in the training room.

She told Newsnight’s Victoria Derbyshire: “It was an ongoing litany of being verbally abused, sexual innuendo, sexual gestures. There was a 35 minute rant at me with him throwing his hands in the air and calling me names and how he couldn’t cope with it anymore.

She continued: “When I got a dance step right he would outline his erection in his trousers and tell me my dance move made that happen, because I got it right.

“The other sexual allegation was verbal. They weren’t isolated one-off incidents.”

The report found instances of Giovanni using swear words, “belittling” language and giving negative feedback.

It also found there there were two moments of “inappropriate behaviour of sexual banter in the workplace”.

Reflecting on the impact her Strictly experience and its aftermath have had on her life, Amanda said: “It’s been one of the worst years of my life.

“I’ve been through a lot. It has been a very unpleasant, turbulent relentless time in my life. I’ve had to deal with myriad horrible things that have continued to happen just for complaining about, I don’t like that word, alerting people to what I deemed was bad behaviour.”

Among the more sinister aspects of the fallout were death threats and even a sickening rape threat made against her 15-year-old daughter, all of which have been referred to the Met Police.

Following Amanda’s interview, a rep for Giovanni told The Sun: “It’s disappointing that Ms Abbington would knowingly mislead the outcome of the report in order to further damage Giovanni’s reputation.

“While Ms Abbington may not like the outcome of the six month investigation, she should not seek to spread false and defamatory claims.”

BOMBSHELL MONDAY

After months of waiting, the findings of a probe into Giovanni’s behaviour were published on Monday.

They were released after celebs including Laura Whitmore, Zara McDermott and Ranvir Singh all came forward with claims.

But the report concluded that Giovanni was not abusive to Amanda, did not make threats and was not intimidating.

It also found that there was no aggressive or physical contact between Giovanni and Amanda.

In a statement, the broadcaster said: “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.”

Amanda had complained that Giovanni sent her an inappropriate video on WhatsApp.

But the BBC did not uphold this complaint and did not find anything sexually inappropriate.

BBC boss Charlotte Moore said: “There were a number of complaints under our bullying and harassment policy.

“A number of those complaints have been upheld. Not all of them, but a number of them have been upheld.

“I’m not able to go into further detail on that, and there are very good reasons for that.

“It’s probably worth me just laying out the confidentiality of a complaints process.

“I think it is absolutely integral to the complaints process, and confidentiality needs to be respected out of fairness to everybody involved.

“But of course, we’re also trying to balance that with the desire to be open and to be transparent about the way our complaints processes work.

“Obviously in this case, there’s been lots of media speculation and lots of interest.

So I think it’s really important that we’re as open and transparent as we can be about that process, which is why we’ve issued the statement.”

In a statement, Amanda said: “As the BBC has indicated today in its statement, my decision to come forward and complain about Giovanni Pernice’s conduct towards me was not an easy thing to do.

“In the days, weeks and months since I contacted the BBC, I’ve been accused of being a liar, a troublemaker and of being ‘mad and unstable’.

“I’ve also received rape and murder threats and a bomb threat was sent to my place of work.

“My family and children have also been subjected to threats and intimidation.

“Despite this vile abuse, I’ve never regretted coming forward, and today’s apology from the BBC is a vindication of my complaint.

“It’s not just a vindication for me, it’s a vindication for the other people who have contacted me since I made my complaint to express concerns about their own experiences on Strictly Come Dancing.

“I hope those who have felt unable to speak out now will be more confident that they will be listened to and believed.

“The BBC has invited me to meet with senior management and this is something I will now be considering.”

Amanda added: “This apology means a great deal to me.

“So too does the fact that the BBC have acknowledged the steps that were put in place to support and protect me and past contestants were ‘not enough’.

“What matters most now is that lessons have been learned and that the BBC makes the changes they’ve promised, to ensure others don’t experience the same ordeal that I and others like me did.”