BBC Strictly Come Dancing's Giovanni Pernice warns Amanda Abbington 'I still have your messages'

Giovanni Pernice has warned he "still has Amanda Abbington's messages" as he broke silence on the investigation into his conduct which saw him AXED from BBC Strictly Come Dancing. The BBC star spoke out on Tuesday (October 22), months on from quitting the programme.

Gio sensationally claimed he and Amanda asked to be partnered up together. Giovanni, who hails from Iitaly, claims he met Amanda in the "speed dating" process of the show, during which celebrities rotate around the professionals for a quick dance and chat.

"I've still got [Amanda's] messages. They say: 'Thank you so much for your patience today, you're an incredible teacher,' so I just thought it was all great," Giovanni said. "Then one of the celebrities came to me and said, 'You didn't have a great week, did you?'

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"I was like, 'What are you talking about?' But Amanda had told them she had a horrible week – and that was week one, before the show had even started." Giovanni continued: "That was the first time I knew that I had to take some action – so I asked for chaperones and cameras in the room. I started to record myself on my phone.

"Obviously we were dancing and I wanted to see the video back but at the same time, I did it to protect myself. I told the production team I was doing it because I didn't feel comfortable in the room, I didn't feel safe.

"At that point, I didn't think she was going to accuse me of anything – but she was saying one thing to me and something else to others on the WhatsApp group. She was telling two different versions of the story. They told me not to [film rehearsals] anymore but that they were going to do it instead."