Sherlock star Amanda Abbington has opened up about her ‘horrendous’ year, which has seen her delay her wedding to Britain’s Got Talent star and fiance, Jonathan Goodwin
Sherlock’s Amanda Abbington has put her wedding on hold until 2026, following what she describes as one of the most challenging years of her life.
The 51-year-old actress is still grappling with the aftermath of the Strictly Come Dancing scandal that saw her exit the BBC show in 2023 and later accuse her dance partner, Giovanni Pernice, of bullying during practice sessions. The broadcaster ended up saying sorry to Amanda after backing some of her less severe allegations against the Sicilian dancer. But, according to Amanda, the drama left her on the edge of a breakdown.
Luckily, her fiance, Jonathan Goodwin, was there for her. She started seeing the Britain’s Got Talent stuntman after parting ways with her Sherlock co-star, Martin Freeman.
Tragically, Jonathan suffered life-altering injuries in 2021 while rehearsing for America’s Got Talent: Extreme. This, coupled with the Strictly saga, made it feel like they were “definitely on the rollercoaster”, according to Amanda.
Speaking to The Times, she revealed that they had planned to get married in 2025 but have pushed it back to 2026 due to “litigation”, which the paper suggests is related to Goodwin. In 2023, the daredevil sued the producers of America’s Got Talent: Extreme after a stunt went horribly wrong, leaving him paralysed when he was crushed between two flaming cars while hanging upside down, reports the Mirror.
As for Amanda, she hasn’t ruled out taking the BBC to court.
Opening up about the hellish 2024, Amanda revealed she was bombarded with death threats and sickening remarks about her kids online, confessing: “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.”
The star bade farewell to Strictly two years back and then dropped a bombshell, accusing her dance pro partner Giovanni of bullying her offstage. This led to a probe by officials, which ended up giving Giovanni a bit of a clean slate from the claims.
But the BBC did say sorry to Amanda after they clocked some truth in her gripes, including Giovanni’s potty mouth and his snide digs at the mum-of-two.
Amanda said: “As the BBC has indicated today in its statement, my decision to come forward and complain about Giovanni Pernice’s conduct towards me was not an easy thing to do. In the days, weeks and months since I contacted the BBC, I’ve been accused of being a liar, a troublemaker and of being ‘mad and unstable’.”
She added, “I’ve also received rape and murder threats and a bomb threat was sent to my place of work. My family and children have also been subjected to threats and intimidation. Despite this vile abuse, I’ve never regretted coming forward, and today’s apology from the BBC is a vindication of my complaint.”
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Source: Celebrities - dailystar.co.uk
