Amanda and Giovanni

[CombatLingerie]

Apologies if there is already a thread but I couldn’t find one. What on earth has gone on between Amanda Abbington and Giovanni Pernice during Strictly?AA is apparently taking legal action against the BBC claiming she has PTSD.

I have PTSD. I nearly died, I was paralysed on the operating theatre table, aware of the chaos going on around me but unable to move, it was life-changing.

I was not upset by a dance teacher.

I've been on drugs for it for a couple of years now, it's made a massive difference. Today is the first time that I've written it down. The therapy must be working too.

Wouldn't wish it on anyone, although I would be surprised that a voluntary dance lesson could cause such life-changing trauma.

@EeesandWhizz what a shocking experience. I hope that you're recovering 💐

You misunderstood what I said. (Not to nitpick but it's ICD -11 now). But what I was saying is that in the legal context a formal diagnosis of PTSD (which requires a qualifying trauma) can often result in a somewhat higher award. But other psychiatric diagnoses can also result in compensation, of course. And determining a trauma does not meet ICD-11 criteria does not mean the person was not traumatised, nor that they were not caused a psychological or psychiatric condition by the event. Post-traumatic psychopathology is not confined to PTSD.

Are people really asking why the bbc didn't do anything if they knew something ropey was going-on? Oh dear oh dear. Remember jimmy saville anyone?

Nope. I haven't read that. The tabloids say 'sources'. Not that the tabloids are known for truth and accuracy. But you obviously seem to have insider information.

@EeesandWhizz I’m so sorry to read what happened to you. I really hope you continue to recover well.

It's not just in the tabloids. It's in the broadsheets too.

FFS going on Strictly doesn't give anyone PTSD. She and Rachel Riley need to get a grip and stop coopting and trivializing a serious condition for attention.

I can believe Giovanni Pernice is potentially a bully, or maybe an unsympathetic and demanding person who can be perceived that way.

Possibly by spoiled celebrities who are not used to being told what to do or held to exacting standards.

I will reserve judgement on him but maybe he isn't suitable for the show if he's repeatedly clashing with the contestants.

So - you think it is feasible that every leak that has come out from "sources" so far that is pro AA and anti Giovanni could POSSIBLY be anyone other than AA or someone associated with her?

"Yes it's a complicated jigsaw with a whole bunch of deciding factors, and sometimes they make a really bad call."

Not meaning to nitpick, @EvilRingahBitch, but I don't think they've ever made a really bad call - it's just that they can only call it so far. The real test comes a few weeks in, once they've spent a lot more time together. At first sight, and on paper, these two looked like a great match. She can dance, he does well with the slightly older woman, etc...

No I don't think that at all. Sources could come from the show, the production team, the management - anyone. Unlike you, I am not making any assumptions
.

I found her a very uncomfortable watch on SCD. There was something so needy about her when the judges were giving their opinion and I once thought she subtly ‘shushed’ Gio when she was getting good praise. I’ve worked with many actresses and I felt her to be very typical of the west end stars I’ve come into contact with - needy, dramatic, starry (and also usually lovely too!). Needing a lot of love and attention.

I get the feeling she will not have coped well with being told rather than cajoled …

Yes I can see why they might have thought it was a good match, but with the benefit of hindsight you can see why it was a terrible pairing. She always seemed tightly wound and in need of the sort of nurturing partner that you'd normally give to a duffer even though she had so much dance potential.

There have been other very bad pairings. Colin and Kristyna, Brendan and Bloody Lulu, James and anyone who wasn't a total ringer, and of course Laura and Giovanni, (arguably Richie and Giovanni as well).

Has anyone considered that perhaps she's not complaining about the way Giovanni treated her, but the way the BBC treated her? She was struggling for whatever reason and they were applying pressure she couldn't take so she left. Would explain why she didn't take part in the final too.

Bear in mind that according to the Sun

^Last night, a source close to the pro said: “Gio finds some of these allegations deeply unfair and offensive.
“He has had support from producers over what has happened recently and they are behind him.
"A lot of the negativity seems to be born out of professional jealousy, especially among the other pro dancers because he went on to get his own TV show with Anton Du Beke

“Gio believes he’s done nothing wrong, and simply wants to get the best out of his partners.”^

So either Giovanni has been slagging his fellow pro dancers off in a frankly grim manner, or the Sun are making shit up. And if they're doing it about what Giovanni is or isn't saying then they can be doing the same about Amanda.

@EvilRingahBitch
Oh yes... Brendan and Lulu :)

It can be a bit disheartening when PTSD has turned your life upside to see it applied to situations that don’t necessarily fit the criteria. It can feel like it diminishes the seriousness of what you’ve faced or are facing. Personally I don’t think we know enough to know if that’s the case here, so I’m not in that camp, but I can understand why others might be.

PTSD from being on a dance show? I've heard it all now.

So you think it likely that any of the above will deliberately cause potential issues for themselves? Consistently. Always giving the side of AA and never anyone else?

It's not weird for people who have genuinely suffered with this life changing diagnosis from traumatic events to question how it could possibly apply in this situation.

Based on?

PTSD was shell shock during the war when it didn’t have an actual medical name. It happens when a human experiences a truly traumatic event such as witnessing a murder, being raped, being in a seriously abusive relationship.

This woman went on strictly come dancing for a couple of weeks, didn’t like the coach so left but presumably still got paid handsomely for the bit she did. She’s a dick.

Give it a rest. You don't know any more than anyone else does. Pure speculation, the lot of it.

Who said it was from being on a dance show?!