One of this year’s Strictly Come Dancing stars has reportedly threatened to quit ahead of the first live show.
Actress Amanda Abbington is alleged to have clashed with pro partner Giovanni Pernice in training.
The pair were partnered together in last week’s launch show and are set to perform a Viennese Waltz to Pointless by Lewis Capaldi this evening.
But The Sun claims there has been tension between the pair as they prepare for their opening performance.
“Giovanni is a hard taskmaster and takes the competition very, very seriously. Sometimes his manner is incredibly brusque and this can upset his partners,” a source said.
The insider claimed that Amanda has “found his aggressive training style and attitude pretty difficult to handle.”
Meanwhile a friend of Giovanni’s added that he was a “perfectionist” who just wanted to get the best out of his celebrity partners.
“They have had a big talk recently and things are improving between them,” they added.
Last week’s launch episode saw Amanda and Giovanni screaming for joy when they were first partnered.
Amanda enthused: “I’m ecstatic, we get on really well, same sense of humour, and dedicated to working hard”.
Giovanni replied: “That was a reaction, I have to be honest…and also there was screaming that I enjoyed very much…very very happy days.”
The duo have continued to put on a united front on social media, with Amanda sharing a picture from rehearsals this week captioned: “The smile you give your pro partner at the end of the camera rehearsal when you know you are in safe and hugely talented hands. Giovanni Pernice ya legend, see you all tomorrow”
Giovanni reshared the photo and added: “I usually don’t say these things early (as probably everybody knows) but I’m extremely proud of you and I can’t wait for people to watch what we have created.”
The new series of Strictly Come Dancing airs live tonight from 6:15PM on BBC One.
