Amanda Abbington delays wedding by a year amid Strictly fallout
By Charlotte McLaughlin, PA Senior Entertainment Reporter
Actress Amanda Abbington said she has delayed plans to get married after one of the “worst years” of her life which saw some of her complaints against Strictly Come Dancing partner Giovanni Pernice upheld in a BBC review.
The Sherlock star, 51, has previously spoken about “hundreds” of death threats she received on social media for claiming she was subject to a “toxic environment” and behaviour that she alleged was “inappropriate, mean, nasty bullying” while competing on the BBC One show.
The BBC upheld “some but not all” of the allegations made by Abbington about Pernice, 34, who has always denied the accusations.
Abbington told The Times it has been a “weird 10 years”, following her splitting with Fargo and Sherlock actor Martin Freeman after 16 years together, and then having a relationship with Britain’s Got Talent star Jonathan Goodwin after his life-changing injuries.
Daredevil Goodwin was left paralysed during rehearsals of America’s Got Talent: Extreme, which Abbington said along with Strictly made it feel like they were “definitely on the rollercoaster”.
Abbington told the newspaper that they had been set to tie the knot in 2025 but have moved it to 2026 due to “litigation”, which the newspaper said was about Goodwin.
She added: “Last year was one of the worst years of my entire life. I was very close to having a breakdown because of the constant barrage of abuse and hideousness.
“And you just think, ‘How can I refuel the positivity?’. And Jonathan was amazing. My friends were amazing. My kids were wonderful, though I was trying to shield them from it.”
In 2023, Goodwin filed a lawsuit against the producers of America’s Got Talent: Extreme after he was crushed between two burning cars while hanging upside down in 2021.
Abbington has previously not ruled out taking legal action against the BBC.
The actress also told The Times that she has “learnt a lot about myself, about the world. I can block certain things now, whereas last year I just couldn’t. It all felt too personal”.
She also said: “I don’t know what the industry thinks of me at the moment. I’ve been immersed in the aftermath of it all for a year.
“I don’t know whether I’ve been cancelled or whether people don’t like me any more, but I know I did what I did for the right reasons. I feel good about the future.”
Her next project is dysfunctional comedy production (This Is Not a) Happy Room at the King’s Head Theatre in London.
Italian dancer Pernice, who “rejected any suggestion of abusive or threatening behaviour”, welcomed the conclusion of the BBC review.
It is understood to have had no findings relating to physical aggression but complaints of verbal bullying and harassment were upheld.
The fallout from the review sparked the BBC to update its duty of care practices on the show, and led Strictly to having chaperones present when celebrities and dancers are practising their routines.
In 2024, Pernice was absent from the Strictly professional line-up, and went on to join the Italian equivalent called Ballando Con Le Stelle, which he won with actress and singer Bianca Guaccero.
