Actress Amanda Abbington has delayed her upcoming wedding following what she has described as one of the “worst years” of her life.
The Sherlock star was partnered with Italian dancer Giovanni Pernice on Strictly Come Dancing in 2023, but quit the show citing “medical reasons”.
She later claimed she was subject to a “toxic environment” while competing on the BBC One show, along with “inappropriate, mean, nasty bullying”.
Pernice denied all of the allegations, but a subsequent review by the BBC saw some of Abbington’s complaints upheld.
In a new interview, Abbington told The Times it had been a “weird 10 years”.
First, she split with Fargo and Sherlock actor Martin Freeman following 16 years together.
Then, she became engaged to Britain’s Got Talent star Jonathan Goodwin, only for him to be paralysed from the waist down in an accident during rehearsals for America’s Got Talent: Extreme shortly afterwards.
Abbington said that accident, along with the Strictly controversy, made it feel like she and Goodwin were “definitely on the rollercoaster”.
Abbington told the newspaper that they had been set to tie the knot in 2025 but had moved their wedding date to 2026 due to “litigation”, which the newspaper said was about Goodwin.
She added: “Last year was one of the worst years of my entire life. I was very close to having a breakdown because of the constant barrage of abuse and hideousness.
“And you just think, ‘How can I refuel the positivity?’. And Jonathan was amazing. My friends were amazing. My kids were wonderful, though I was trying to shield them from it.”
In 2023, Goodwin filed a lawsuit against the producers of America’s Got Talent: Extreme after he was crushed between two burning cars while hanging upside down in 2021.
Abbington has previously not ruled out taking legal action against the BBC.
Her next project is dysfunctional comedy production (This Is Not a) Happy Room at the King’s Head Theatre in London.
Pernice earlier welcomed the conclusion of the BBC review.
It is understood to have had no findings relating to physical aggression, but complaints of verbal bullying and harassment were upheld.
The fallout from the review sparked the BBC to update its duty of care practices on the show, and led Strictly to have chaperones present when celebrities and dancers are practising their routines.
In 2024, Pernice was absent from the Strictly professional line-up, and went on to join the Italian equivalent, called Ballando Con Le Stelle, which he won with actress and singer Bianca Guaccero.
