'Amanda went too far': The very curious backstory to Abbington's extraordinary Newsnight interview. So why DID the BBC let her repeat lurid claim that had been dismissed?

EXCLUSIVE 'Amanda went too far': The very curious backstory to Abbington's extraordinary Newsnight interview. So why DID the BBC let her repeat lurid claim that had been dismissed? By Katie Hind For The Daily Mail Published: 01:55, 4 October 2024 | Updated: 01:57, 4 October 2024 e-mail View comments Amanda Abbington 's Newsnight interview was kept so secret that many BBC employees had no idea it was even taking place. There was no publicity, no clues.

Even ­ Giovanni Pernice 's team were unaware, managing to get a tip off only minutes before it went on air at 10.30pm on Wednesday. Friends of the Italian ballroom star wonder whether that was because Abbington was always intending to further fan the flames of the row between the doomed Strictly pairing of 2023.

After a six-month investigation by the BBC into allegations of bullying of ­Abbington by Pernice, most of the complaints against the professional dancer were thrown out in the report they finally shared on Monday. But if heating up the row was her intention, it is fair to say Abbington's appearance on Newsnight's sofa, where she was interviewed live by host Victoria Derbyshire , had a ­considerable effect. I can reveal that Pernice's lawyers are ­furious at the Sherlock actress's ­extraordinary claims of sexual misconduct on Newsnight.

Abbington told Derbyshire she endured an '­ongoing litany of being ­verbally abused, ­sexual innuendo, sexual ­gestures' and 'there was a 35-minute rant at me with him ­throwing .