28 October 2023 , 16:40
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Tonight's Strictly Come Dancing will be the first show after Amanda Abbington announced her decision to leave the BBC competition for good. The Sherlock star spoke directly to her fans on Tuesday morning when she posted on Instagram that she was 'unable to continue'.
Her professional partner Giovanni Pernice took one final blow when Amanda failed to directly mention him, though she did thank 'everyone on Strictly' who was 'kind and caring' to her. Many have said her omission of Giovanni pinpoints exactly what she thought of her pairing, which made multiple headlines over feud rumours.
Amanda Abbington left the competition earlier this week after missing last Saturday's show (PA)
She failed to mention her professional partner Giovanni, though he did post about her (Instagram)The 49-year-old mum-of-two revealed that she withdrew from the competition for 'personal reasons', telling her Instagram followers: "It is with deepest regret that I had to leave Strictly. I did not come to this decision easily or lightly but for personal reasons I am unable to continue. It was an absolute joy working with my fellow contestants, they are a beautiful, hardworking and talented group of people who I love and who I will miss seeing every Friday and Saturday and competing alongside. I want to thank the incredible production team and everyone on Strictly who looked after me and who are so kind and caring."
She added: "It's a wonderful bunch of people and I'll miss all of them. I'm so sad that I am unable to go any further. Thank you to everyone who voted and who sent wonderful messages and inspiring support. You are all amazing. Truly. Thank you. xxx." Meanwhile, Giovanni broke his silence on social media on Monday night after Strictly announced Amanda's exit from the show. Sharing a snap of himself and Amanda taken backstage during Movie Week, the 2021 Strictly winner wrote: "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."
It comes after a source told the Daily Star that Amanda had been "fed up", adding: "The schedule is very gruelling and after a series of setbacks on the show she has simply decided, with regret, that it's the right thing to do." Early on in the competition, rumours had swirled that she wasn't getting on with Giovanni, who attended Saturday's show alone. Amanda's representatives hit back against the reported feud, deeming it untrue.
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However Amanda was said to be left feeling miserable over his "aggressive training style and attitude" during their training sessions. A source revealed that Giovanni is a "hard taskmaster and takes the competition very, very seriously". "Sometimes his manner is incredibly brusque and this can upset his partners. Amanda was really looking forward to dancing with him, but has found his aggressive training style and attitude pretty difficult to handle," the insider told The Sun.
Before missing the weekend's dance, the Mr Selfridge actress and Giovanni were forced to deny rumours of their feud on TV. Appearing on Strictly's sister show It Takes Two last month, the pair displayed a united front as host Janette Manrara said: "It honestly looks like you two are having the best time in rehearsals, getting along like a house on fire in rehearsals right?"
Amanda agreed and replied: "Yeah we are, we are! We do and we laugh a lot, we have the same sense of humour which is really important. So we'll come out, work hard, and then we just laugh don't we." In a sweary rant, Amanda also insisted things were "all good" between them, as she told fans: "Because who does care what other people think, there's a life lesson." She added that she was "very excited and very, very nervous, but it's all fun," before sharing: "Ignoring the bulls***, because clearly people are t****.
"Just stop it, stop it, grow up. No one gives a s***. Shut up, it's b****cks, so f*** off. You know who I'm talking to as well. Come on, jog on, it's nonsense and you know it's nonsense. It's all good." Italian pro Giovanni also addressed the claims, posting on Instagram : "I usually don't say those things early (as everybody know) but I'm extremely proud of you [Amanda] and I can't wait for people to watch we have created."