James Dreyfus rages 'women's rights are being rolled back' in fierce BBC Strictly rant as he backs Abbington

The Sherlock actress complained to the BBC after just "three days" of working with Pernice and made a number of bombshell allegations against the dancer, including a claim he's "blocking" the release of "50 hours of footage" as well as an allegation he exhibited "humiliating behaviour of a sexual nature".

Pernice has hit back at the interview, refuting the claims made by Abbington to Channel 4 News and implying he'll have his name cleared when the investigation at the Beeb reaches its conclusion.

Abbington has faced sickening trolling as a result of her complaints amid the ongoing saga, something she'd already had a harrowing experience of prior to her Strictly stint after facing online abuse for supposedly "transphobic" remarks about drag queens and the trans debate.

She denied being "transphobic" before Strictly started and ended up deleting her X, formerly Twitter, account as a result of the backlash, something actor Dreyfus was keen to highlight to BBC bosses when he discovered she'd signed up after he'd turned the chance down.

Dreyfus, who's no stranger to social media mobs thanks to his staunch support of JK Rowling for her stance on the trans agenda and women's rights, penned on X that the abuse facing Abbington is symptomatic of society's approach to women.

"I was asked to do Strictly last year. I spoke with producers at an initial Zoom meeting," Dreyfus claimed. "I told them about my opinions, my support for women’s rights, & warned them that I’d be a 'controversial choice', so I wanted to know if they’d have my back, should I receive an online backlash.

"They said yes. And, to be honest, I believed them, as they seemed understanding & sincere. Ultimately, I decided it wasn’t for me."

Dreyfus went on to claim he "wrote to the producers" he'd spoken with after hearing Abbington had joined the line-up "to make sure they had HER back" following the trolling on social media.

I was asked to do Strictly last year.

I spoke with producers at an initial Zoom meeting. I told them about my opinions, my support for women’s rights, & warned them that I’d be a “controversial choice”, so I wanted to know if they’d have my back, should I receive an online… https://t.co/fe8zNnFQ57

— James Dreyfus (@DreyfusJames) July 24, 2024

He alleged: "I asked them to take care of her, as she’d recently had pile on after pile on for speaking her mind & had since left ‘X’. I heard nothing back. And why would I? I was nothing to do with the programme any longer & I assumed my email had been read & its contents noted."

Referring to her interview with Krishnan Guru-Murthy, he said: "To see her distress here, to hear what happened, & to witness the effect of this ongoing, eternally vitriolic & downright cruel online mob is just horrendous &, tragically only too familiar to many who simply ask the ‘wrong question’ at the ‘wrong time’ of the ‘wrong people’.

"When are people going to finally wake up & say ‘enough really is enough’ & make immediate & definitive decisions to stamp this out?

"It’s utterly galling to see government, institutions, charities, the media & lobby groups dismissing women’s concerns over ANY subject pertinent to THEM? Why are women’s needs STILL on the bottom rung of the ladder??

"Crimes against women are skyrocketing & women rights are being rolled back day by day, & yet, when they speak up, & out, they are demonised & used as punching bags for an ever- increasingly aggressive movement, brimming with misogyny & entitlement.

"Solidarity with you, Amanda Abbington," he concluded. "That you’ve been let down & abused in this way is unconscionable. Please know there’s an ARMY of people here, who will always have your back." (sic)

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Pernice has since responded to Abbington's latest claims, saying via a spokesperson: "We are cooperating fully with the BBC’s review process. All parties have been asked to respect this process and to not speak to the media before it concludes.

"We will continue to respect the integrity of the investigation and believe it is the right forum for all the evidence to be reviewed. As part of the evidence-led review, the BBC has shared the allegations they have been able to substantiate with us.

"They do not resemble Amanda’s latest allegations, given to Channel 4, in any shape or form. Giovanni refutes any claim of threatening or abusive behaviour, and having provided the BBC with his evidence, is confident that the review will prove this.

"We would urge people to wait for the review’s conclusion and not to pay heed to these very serious and defamatory allegations that have no evidence in support of them."