Abbington said she loves Strictly and “never wanted to cause trouble, I never wanted to bring down a show or ruin anybody’s career”.
“All I did was experience something in a workplace environment that was actually on a show run by a corporation that is owned by the public and I didn’t want anybody else to go through what I had gone through,” she said.
Abbinton added she invited other former Strictly contestants to her home because “we wanted to make sure we weren’t on our own thinking this had just happened to us”.
She said when they first met “we all burst into tears”.
On what she thought about the BBC’s treatment of her case, Abbington said: “There’s a 30-page report me and my lawyers are still digesting, there are still things in there that are unresolved.”
A spokesperson for Pernice said ahead of the interview: “Giovanni is relieved that the very serious allegations made against him have not been upheld. We are unable to comment further on the report and the BBC has asked both parties to respect its confidentiality.”
BBC News has approached Pernice for further comment following the interview.
In a statement, the BBC said it takes allegations of bullying and harassment “very seriously”.
“We have assessed the complaints and we have upheld some, but not all, of the complaints made,” it said.
“We want to apologise to Amanda Abbington and to thank her for coming forward and taking part. We know this would not have been an easy thing to do.”
A new series of Strictly launched on BBC One last month. Earlier this year, the BBC confirmed Pernice would not return to the professional line-up for the new series.
He has now joined his native Italy’s equivalent to Strictly, Ballando con le Stelle.
The BBC announced a string of new measures for Strictly in July. They include introducing chaperones in all rehearsal rooms and two new welfare producers.
