16 December 2023 , 11:31
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Amanda Abbington has broken her silence on tonight's Strictly Come Dancing final.
It comes after the actress, 51, pulled out of returning to the BBC show tonight alongside professional dance partner Giovanni Pernice. The pro was reportedly "fuming" after the actress suddenly quit in October after "giving no warning".
Taking to Instagram today, Amanda shared a photo of this year's finalists - Coronation Street's Ellie Leach and Vito Coppola, Bobby Brazier and Dianne Buswell and Layton Williams Nikita Kuzmin. She wrote: "Good luck tonight to these six beautiful humans."
A BBC spokesperson confirmed to the Mirror last week that Amanda wouldn't be returning, explaining: "Amanda decided to withdraw from the competition, therefore she will not be returning for the final."
Nigel Harman was also forced to pull out of the show early, however he will be back tonight with partner Katya Jones. A spokesperson confirmed to the Mirror: "Nigel Harman will be returning for the final of Strictly Come Dancing on Saturday 16th December, he will be featured in the show alongside other 2023 cast members. He had to leave the competition early due to sustaining an injury, therefore will not be performing in the final."
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Amanda Abbington won't be returning to Strictly Come Dancing (WireImage)
Giovanni was reportedly 'fuming' after Amanda announced her sudden exit (PA)Speaking following her exit two months ago, Amanda said that she had to withdraw due to "personal reasons" and thanked the production team and "everyone on Strictly" in her statement without mentioning professional dance partner Giovanni in her statement. Following her message to social media, Giovanni posted to Instagram to address his sadness after his time in the competition was cut short.
Taking to his Instagram at the time, Giovanni had shared a photo of the pair embracing while dressed in festive outfits and wrote: "I am so sad we can't continue but I am proud of what we achieved and I am sending you so much love."
A statement from the BBC had also been read out by It Takes Two host Fleur East, which read: "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." Fleur then showed Amanda and Giovanni's best bits on the show, before sending her own well wishes to the actress.
Amanda's partner Jonathan Goodwin made a cryptic post just hours before his girlfriend's exit for officially announced on Monday . He had posted a photo of himself, writing alongside it: "We can be so hard on ourselves...be our own worst critics... But before you judge yourself... make sure your mirror is clean." He also later shared a reel of him doing a 45 minute hack to make someone more productive. He captioned it: "The 45 minute hack you can use to make you more productive, eliminate any unwanted feeling, behaviour or emotion. It WORKS and you already know about it."
*Strictly Final airs tonight at 7pm on BBC One