Amanda Abbington has revealed that she received rape and death threats to her children in the aftermath of withdrawing from Strictly Come Dancing.
The Sherlock star suddenly quit Strictly five episodes into the 2023 season, citing personal reasons at the time in October. Three months later, it was reported that she had requested rehearsal footage from her time on the show amid rumours of a feud with professional dancer Giovanni Pernice.
As the long-enduring BBC series now faces the biggest scandal in its 24-year history, with multiple dancers facing misconduct allegations, Abbington has revealed the extent of the online abuse she personally faced after leaving the show last year.
Speaking to Channel 4 News on Wednesday, Abbington said the abuse had been “brutal, relentless and unforgiving” and she received dozens of threats a day towards herself and her children.
“The aftermath has been something that I wasn’t expecting. The death threats and the rape threats towards not only myself but my daughter, and the threats of death to my son,” she said.
“When you get one or two of those, you can just go ‘oh God’, you know, but I was getting dozens a day… it was just all the time.”
She added: “Having the courage to go and say something is so important and we are not cultivating that environment. We are making out that women who voice their concerns about a situation are trawled through the press, sent death threats, rape threats and not taken seriously.”
Elsewhere in the interview, Abbington said she and her lawyer are trying to access 50 hours of rehearsal room footage that was filmed during her training with Pernice, which she alleged shows her time “spent in a room that was toxic” with the Strictly professional, who has repeatedly denied any wrongdoing.
On 10 June, the BBC announced that Pernice – who has been on the show since 2015 – would not be participating in the forthcoming 2024 season. Weeks later, Graziano Di Prima was dropped from the show after his alleged mistreatment of his celebrity partner, Zara McDermott, in 2023 was made public.
Di Prima, who joined Strictly in 2018, has since admitted to kicking reality star McDermott in the rehearsal room.
In a statement issued on Wednesday, the BBC said it takes “duty of care extremely seriously”, adding: “Our processes on Strictly Come Dancing are updated every year, they are kept under constant review and last week we announced additional steps to further strengthen welfare and support on the show.”