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Giovanni Pernice has accused Amanda Abbington of "spreading false and defamatory claims" in an explosive Newsnight interview about his alleged behaviour during Strictly Come Dancing rehearsals.
Following an investigation into the scandal, the BBC issued an apology to Abbington, upholding some of her complaints against Pernice.
The Sherlock actress withdrew from the BBC One show last year after five weeks, citing “personal reasons” and later describing a “toxic environment” with “inappropriate, mean, nasty bullying”, prompting the investigation.
Pernice, who is not part of this year’s Strictly professional line-up and has since joined an Italian dance show, has denied “any claim of threatening or abusive behaviour”.
The investigation reportedly found no evidence of physical aggression, but complaints of verbal bullying and harassment were upheld. Six out of 17 total complaints were said to have been supported.
On Wednesday’s Newsnight, Abbington detailed alleged abuse, claiming: “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 up in the air, calling me names and telling me all sorts of things that I was doing wrong and he couldn’t really cope with it anymore.
“This went on...
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