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.

Me too. She seemed self aware to the point of disassociation. Playing the role of actress Amanda Abbington on a dance show. Lots of odd quick glances and deliberately delicate vulnerability that seemed off and insincere. Would never say this in real life but she seems strange. In any case: she definitely did NOT look comfortable on SCD in any way.

Honestly if your brain is sending you into thought processes like this, take a break from the internet @AnonnyMouseDave. This is not a healthy way of seeing the world. Paranoia, persecution and a shadowy enemy ready to take revenge at every turn - not healthy at all.

I’ve got no idea what’s gone on.

I’ll be following the whole
thing with interest though, because I’m not sure what to make of AA.

I follow her and her fiancé on Instagram and in the face of it she’s lovely, and kind, and funny and positive. And her fiancé raves about her and talks about what a kind person she is and how amazing she is.

And they’re all loved up on the shows they go on together.

And I do like her as an actress. There’s something very watchable and charismatic about her.

But… there’s something a bit, I don’t know, affected there. And yes I know she’s an actress blah blah. There’s just something I can’t put my finger on that seems forced. I feel like I SHOULD love her… I dunno 🤷‍♀️

Remember this is the same corporation that dug its trench behind Jimmy Savile too. Theyre biased media, of course they aren't going to put their hands up to anything, until they're forced to. I'm not buying what they're selling. Keen to see how this pans out. I'm with Amanda.

I’m a big fan of Strictly, I’ve watched if for years. I don’t know enough about what goes on, to form an opinion. I would argue that no one else on here knows either.

I thought she was quite emotionally brittle. Whatever happened, I’m sorry she had such a difficult experience though and the producers do have a duty of care for people’s mental and physical health. I read somewhere she gave another reason for leaving so they may have been entirely unaware. Though if people here have spotted her vulnerability they should have too.

I have not had my life threatened in any way, faced death, witnessed death, had a horrific violent attack, yet I’m diagnosed with C-PTSD.
Honestly some of you need to be more careful sharing your ignorant opinions on mental health, it’s really quite dangerous.

We don’t know if AA complained to the BBC, but let’s face it they don’t have a great track record of dealing with stuff.

Other people have complained about Gio, so it’s not beyond the realms of fantasy that AA is not lying, or being a snowflake (I mean ffs people, I hope you’re never in a situation where you need some support, and if you are I hope you get more than you deserve!).

I worked with AA at one point and have never heard of her being difficult or needy or a troublemaker. It’s not a time of life that I talk about or think about, but seeing some posters saying she has a reputation means I have to say something, because in my experience she doesn’t, and it makes me wonder if they’re making it up for whatever reason (and yes this happened a lot after it was decided she was a terf, and it was a TRA tactic to cancel her!).

I came across this online and it does seem that she struggles with mental health issues. Perhaps the competitive nature of Strictly was too much for her and brought out dark thoughts about not being good enough.

Maybe this has nothing to do with her dance partner and she's requested the footage so she can use it during her treatment for PTSD?

Yes, I am aware that I'm speculating. This whole thread is speculation because none of us know.

The actress – who is best known for playing Mary Watson in Sherlock – told James O'Brien on his Full Disclosure podcast, how she "was a bit of a mess" and "hated herself."
Opening up about some of her darker moments, Amanda frankly recalled the first time she'd considered taking her own life. "And I was sat there as I was driving, in my head, and I haven't said this since I started therapy six years ago, 'you could always kill yourself,'" she candidly shared.
"And that was what my mantra used to be. If you've let people down and upset somebody or if you're not being the best you can or you're a bad mother, or you're not stepping up with your acting, you can always kill yourself."
She went on to say: "That was a genuine option for me, quite a few times in my life. Then I don't have to be this bad person because I don't have to be here any more."

I agree, he's probably been an absolute dick. But as a confident and articulate 51yr old woman she should/could have spoken out and had him dealt with. It defo seems like he needs sorted!

Really? You're pretty naive if you think that.

But… there’s something a bit, I don’t know, affected there. And yes I know she’s an actress blah blah. There’s just something I can’t put my finger on that seems forced. I feel like I SHOULD love her… I dunno

Yes me too. I want to like her, on paper I should warm to her but something feels uncomfortable and like a "front". Yet saying that I'm aware that all kinds of celebs and famous people will have a public persona that's not really the "real" them, and for good reason. And I do also see that she could be being treated badly - some people at Strictly, being a showbiz/artsy environment, are likely to have had antipathy towards her for daring to question gender stuff. But... I still didn't like it when she was on screen and couldn't relate to her.

I also feel like like that about her much-hyped relationship. But I always feel awkward and worried when someone does a big public thing about how loved-up they are. It just seems like such a bad idea.

Opening up about some of her darker moments, Amanda frankly recalled the first time she'd considered taking her own life. "And I was sat there as I was driving, in my head, and I haven't said this since I started therapy six years ago, 'you could always kill yourself,'" she candidly shared.

See - I really feel sorry for her if that's how she's felt. And at the same time I also think, how can you say that publicly when you have kids who will be able to see that? Like the relationship gushing, it makes me feel really awkward.

@CPTSD You had your experience with AA, I had mine. Both can be true. My experiences were long before TRA was an issue and I can assure you I’ve not made anything up -or detailed anything - to try to ‘cancel’ her. I could be lying. But so could you.

What’s actually true is people behave differently in different situations and around different people.

My experience leads me to take accusations of bullying or harm with a pinch of salt, yours leads to you thinking it’s the absolute truth. Fair enough. For AA’s sake I hope there is a case to find because otherwise GP has every right to take her to the cleaners for the damage to his reputation all this speculation will cause and people will be extremely skittish when it comes to hiring her.

And the repeated default to reduce every negative thing or criticism in a GCritical person’s life to ‘the TRA are out to get us’ is going beyond tired and getting into unhinged territory now.

Ive often thought the strictly relationship is so intense, in so many ways. It does seem odd that with Debbie and Rose everything was fine, but with Amanda it was terrible, but perhaps it's down to a personality clash - and maybe Amanda is suffering with her own issues around the menopause too, which I think can't be discounted. I also think Amanda is a woman who is strong willed and maybe found being a student quite tough, when people age they get more confident with what they will and won't accept.
All that said, as a total outsider, I love watching Giovanni dance and I feel he has had some smoking partnerships.

@Over40Overdating can you expand on your experience of AA? As detailed in my post above I find her fascinating- or to be more accurate, I find my own reaction to her fascinating and a bit confusing.

I have PTSD due to very tragic life changing events involving death and serious assault. I'm very surprised someone could have it from appearing on Strictly.

I did read she was in financial difficulties, hence her participation in the programme to start with. Perhaps this has affected her mental health.

Other than the group dances I don't think you saw much of him, but I did notice that when the camera was pointing at him when the scores were being given, he looked rather serious and sheepish at times, even trying to hide behind the others, especially towards the end of the series.

We obviously have no idea what happened to her. But there are a lot of people saying how can she have trauma “just from being on strictly.“ That’s like saying someone who was, for instance, attacked walking down the street is “having trauma just from walking down the street.“

Well it's not really is it as that would be trauma from being attacked.

We can only go off what we know so far so as I said having lived with PTSD for a few years now I would be surprised that an appearance on Strictly would trigger it.

Someone said upthread that she was bullied at school, she went through a public and stressful marriage breakup and found love with a man who became disabled. I don't think it's much of a stretch to think she may have thought Strictly would be a great way to give her a boost personally (as has happened to many - Louise for example) and found herself bullied and thus broken by her experience.

I also feel that it's largely unknown what went on but that women's concerns are often dismissed and complex mental health is a real thing. I thought the attempt to cancel Amanda was also really awful (although sadly nothing knew, my sister told me stories of women fired for objected to mixed sex toilets at her school...).

She was learning to Dance , I think saying she has PTSD is an insult to real victims

I'd agree, unless she is actually referring to PTSD from soemthing else. Also we don;t even know if the news story is true....

I've met him and he was lovely. I'd quite happily be locked in a room for 8 hours with him

Also Ritchie is a bloody nightmare (I know people who have worked with him) so I wouldn't hold much stock on his comments.

The Amanda thing is strange. I would love to know what really happened.

It feels a bit stupid having to go to this level but, obviously, she believes something else happened. I’m guessing you must have misunderstood my post because it’s so obvious?