The BBC is due to publish the findings of its investigation into the conduct of the professional dancer Giovanni Pernice as more allegations emerge about his treatment of celebrity partners on Strictly Come Dancing.
The TV presenter Laura Whitmore released a statement on Saturday alleging she was subjected to “inappropriate behaviour” during her time on the show in 2016, and said she had raised concerns eight years ago.
She was partnered with Pernice and battled an ankle injury during the early weeks of the competition that forced her to pull out of a live show.
In a statement posted on social media, in which she does not name Pernice, Whitmore said: “I was asked to speak to the BBC along with six people that I know of, about inappropriate behaviour they experienced similar to mine with the same individual. I thought my experience was specific to me but I’ve since learned I was wrong. The aim of this is to show a pattern of behaviour that I believe needs to stop.”
Whitmore said she initially raised concerns back in 2016. Shortly after appearing in the series, she had said: “I was extremely uncomfortable with him. In the end, I felt broken. I cried every day.”
In her statement on Saturday, she said it was “a shame it takes this for someone to be heard”. “I am not looking for anything, just an acceptance that what happened to me in the rehearsal rooms during my time on BBC Strictly was wrong and that it won’t happen to anyone again,” Whitmore said.
She added that she had provided evidence of her experience to support the BBC’s investigation. “Victim blaming must stop or we will never get better. I’ve tried to speak up in the correct way,” Whitmore said.
On Monday the BBC is expected to publish the findings of its review into allegations made by the Sherlock actor Amanda Abbington, who accused Pernice of behaving in an “abusive, cruel and mean” manner when she was partnered with him on the show last year.
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She withdrew from the competition partway through and later lodged a formal complaint against Pernice. In an interview with Channel 4 News, Abbington said producers told her they were “shocked and horrified” by video of her rehearsals with Pernice, adding that 50 hours’ worth of footage had been “blocked” by the BBC.
She also said she had been subjected to an instance of “humiliating behaviour of a sexual nature” while on the show and that she had received daily rape and death threats online since going public with her complaint.
Pernice has left the show, along with his fellow professional dancer Graziano Di Prima, who admitted kicking his partner, the media personality Zara McDermott, in rehearsals last year.
Pernice has reportedly provided a dossier of evidence to the BBC investigation that he believes will exonerate him. A spokesperson for Pernice has previously said: “Giovanni refutes these allegations and denies any accusations of abusive or threatening behaviour. He has provided substantive evidence to the investigation, and he remains fully confident of clearing his name.”
The BBC’s director general, Tim Davie, confirmed last week that the next series of the dancing show would go ahead this autumn, and that the broadcaster would ensure “fun and entertainment prevails” over competitiveness.
He said the corporation would “never tolerate unacceptable behaviour” and it had already announced plans to introduce chaperones for rehearsals.
