27 October 2023 , 18:30
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After sensationally quitting BBC's Strictly Come Dancing this week, Amanda Abbington has received support not only from the public, but also from her fiancé Jonathan Goodwin. On Monday it was announced that the actress would step away from the dance floor after missing her performance last weekend.
Fleur East, host of Strictly spin off show It Takes Two said: "Amanda Abbington is unable to continue in Strictly Come Dancing and has decided to withdraw from the competition. The show wishes her all the best for the future." Before the shock statement, Jonathan posted a cryptic comment to his social media following. Sharing a selfie, he reflected: "We can be so hard on ourselves...be our own worst critics... But before you judge yourself... make sure your mirror is clean."
Amanda has been supported by Jonathan as she quits Strictly (Ken McKay/ITV/REX/Shutterstock)
The couple got engaged just 30 minutes after meeting each other (jonathangoodwinofficial/Instagram)Amanda and Jonathan, who is best known as a Britain's Got Talent stuntman, fell in love at first sight and got engaged just half an hour after meeting each other. The Mr Selfridge star, 49, found love with the daredevil 10 months after her four year romance with The Queen's Gambit star Jonjo O'Neill broke down. Jonathan helped Amanda get back on her feet again after feeling "fragile" following the breakdown of her relationship.
They had a whirlwind romance from the get-go, where they spent hours talking on the phone every day for seven weeks before he flew to Vienna to meet her in person for the first time. They had been friends on social media for more than 10 years after Amanda's son Joe thought his BGT act was 'amazing'.
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EastEnders' Jake Wood's snap of son has fans pointing out the pair's likeness
"We kind of had a mutual respect for each other", she said. However, Amanda had initially 'friend zoned' him because he was with his wife. Amanda told Jay Rayner on his Out To Lunch podcast, they later spoke were she said to him "I've not had a great break-up" and he said "'well my divorce has just come through".
Amanda added: "I really liked him so I gave him my number and then the next day he said 'we should talk' and we were on the phones for seven hours." The actress said within half an hour of meeting, the daredevil proposed to her. Announcing their engagement, Amanda wrote at the time: "When you know, you know. I knew straight away. Within hours. My person is one of the kindest, sweetest, most amazing, incredible, talented, funny, brave, unstoppable, fearless and beautiful humans on the planet."
Amanda and Giovanni's time on Strictly has been cut short (PA)However just weeks later, their happiness was shattered when Jonathan was performing an extreme stunt. He was set to escape from a straight jacket while being hung upside down 30 feet in the air in between two suspended cars during a stunt for America's Got Talent: Extreme, in 2021. He missed the air mattress which was meant to break his fall and hit his head on the ground.
Amanda has shared: "He fell 30 feet and lost a kidney, broke both shoulder blades, shattered both legs. Third degree burns, broke his spine and severed his spinal cord and, nearly died. And then on the operating table, he nearly died again. He’s paralysed now he’s in a wheelchair. Unless there’s a kind of stem cell surgery or that thing that Elon Musk is designing with the little chip, he’ll be like that forever."
The stuntman posted about mental health amid the chaos (jonathangoodwinofficial/Instagram)
Jonathan appeared on Britain's Got Talent in 2019 (ITV)Jonathan has since retired from escapology. Despite the life-altering injuries, the Strictly 2023 star explained he has remained "positive and upbeat and so strong". "His courage and his strength is something that I just aspire to be like," she said. Amanda was previously married to Sherlock co-star Martin Freeman but split in 2016. The former couple share two children together - son Joe and daughter Grace.
Amanda missed Strictly's live show on Saturday, with her absence announced on Friday night's edition of Strictly: It Takes Two. She shared a poignant message with herInstagramfollowers the following morning, reminding people: "People don't fake depression... they fake being okay. Remember that. Be kind."
Her professional dance partner Giovanni Pernice posted a sweet tribute following the news. Sharing a picture of him and Amanda backstage in their pyjamas, he said: "Amanda .. I am so sad we can’t continue but I am proud of what we achieved and I am sending you so much love @amanda_abbington74 @bbcstrictly."