24 September 2023 , 08:12
1143
0
All eyes were on Strictly Come Dancing stars Giovanni Pernice and Amanda Abbington as they took to the floor for the first live airing of the BBC dance show on Saturday night.
Their performance came hours after rumours began swirling that the couple were 'at war' backstage with Sherlock actress Amanda 'ready to quit' over Giovanni's 'militant and aggressive' training techniques.
The duo managed to put the controversy to one side as they delivered an elegant Viennese Waltz by Lewis Capaldi. Following the routine, Amanda raised eyebrows as she said her dance partner had become 'like a brother' to her, seemingly pouring cold water on the feud allegations. The actress went on to say she hadn't 'picked things up as quickly as she wanted to' in their rehearsals.
Following their performance, Giovanni and Amanda were noticeably the only pairing not to speak out on social media. While their co-stars shared clips of their performances, best wishes from fans and candid behind the scenes footage from the night, the couple both opted to remain silent on their phones after a day of drama.
Giovanni Pernice and Sherlock star Amanda Abbington danced the Viennese Waltz to Pointless by Lewis Capaldi for their first live show of the series, amid rumours of a 'clash' between them backstage (BBC)Amanda's last post on her Instagram was a fierce denial that she'd fallen out with Giovanni. While the Italian dancer posted only once before the show to share a message of support from former co-star Robin Windsor who had selected the pairing as his 'one to watch' ahead of the first live episode.
What Ola and James Jordan really ate and did to shed 7st
Amanda has previously said she is not posting to X, formerly known as Twitter during the show. The actress, who previously starred in Sherlock with her former partner of 16 years Martin Freeman, had been banned from the site three times for airing controversial views.
She told the BBC: "After a three-time Twitter ban, I’ve learned not to be quite so visceral in my anger or upset, just sit on it for a bit." The star was branded a 'TERF' - [trans-exclusionary radical feminist] for her past posts that have included calling a drag baby sensory and cabaret show inappropriate for young children in March this year..
Amanda didn't mince her words ahead of the first live show as she denied a feud (Instagram)
Giovanni posted to Instagram to praise Amanda after reports they had fallen out backstage (instagram.com/amanda_abbington74)The first live Strictly show saw all 15 couples perform with Nigel Harmon and Katya Jones topping the leaderboard with their stombing Pasa Doble to Smells Like Teen Spirit by Nirvana. While at the other end of the table, Les Dennis has it all to do next week after scoring just 16 out of 40 for his Tango with Nancy Xu.