Giovanni Pernice supported by Dancing On Ice star amid Amanda Abbington feud

13 January 2024 , 15:58

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Giovanni Pernice supported by Dancing On Ice star amid Amanda Abbington feud

Dancing On Ice star Alex Murphy has publicly supported Giovanni Pernice after becoming embroiled in a bitter feud with former dance partner, Amanda Abbington.

Then 51 year old Sherlock actress has claimed her brief time on the show left her with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) due to Giovanni's behaviour towards her. And recently, she has reportedly asked for recordings of their rehearsals after seeking legal advice.

Amanda claims that this will prove her accusations of Giovanni being too much of a hard taskmaster, to be true. But when Alex appeared on GB News, she showed her support for her fellow professional and opened up on what it takes to mentor a celebrity.

Giovanni Pernice is in a bitter feud with Amanda Abbington

She said: "I think what happens - obviously, I'm a professional, I think Giovanni is great. I will as a pro, stand with the pros and you're like, 'He's doing the best he can." Alex won the ITV show in January 2020 with partner Joe Swash and revealed what it is like working with different personalities.

She explained: I"t's really hard because you have to gauge each person as an individual. So every time that you want to think to yourself, 'This is a dance competition', or, 'This is a skating competition' It's not, it's a TV show. And we need to remember that as professionals."

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She continued: "The hard part is every person is different. Every single time I went in, I had to have a completely different teaching structure." Alex claimed that the only difference between the ITV skating show and the BBC dance show is that the skating professionals change regularly.

Alex Murphy has publicly supported Giovanni Pernice (almurph18/Instagram)

Alex won Dancing On Ice in 2020 with Jose Swash (PA)

Alex made the point that having the same professionals means that they learn it is a TV show and it allows the public to also get to know and love the professional dancers. Alex went on to explain that professionals will know if they stand a chance of winning the show or not, and if not, they will then re-asses their goals.

Amanda quit the BBC show after five weeks last October citing "personal issues" amid speculation that the pair had fallen out. It has reportedly taken months for her to recover from her Strictly experience and it is believed she has needed therapy following the "behaviour she was exposed to."

It has also been reported that BBC bosses are supporting Giovanni and Alex thinks it's great that he has such a good network of people backing him. A source told The Sun: "It's no secret Gio and Amanda had a tricksy relationship — but there are two sides to every story. Bosses arranged a call between his management and show execs to discuss recent coverage and make sure he was OK as obviously he's faced a hell of a lot of stick over the past couple of months."

They added: "The feeling is he is a tough taskmaster, but hasn't bullied or abused anyone. The BBC see him as a key face of Strictly and will do all they can to support him." Giovanni has also received backing from his fellow Strictly co-stars Anton Du Beke and Motsi Mabuse.

The TV judges showed their support by liking his advert for his fragrance VITA, on Instagram. Alluding to the drama with Amanda, he wrote a cryptic message on the advert. He said: "My fragrance VITA (Italian for life) is just that, a celebration of life. Of positivity when there is obviously so much around us which can be a cause for the opposite. We are starting this journey with high hopes and ambitions, and with many more products in the pipeline."

Lucretia Munro