Amanda Abbington tried to hide her pain behind 'polite bravado' but facial winces and firm head-nods showed her true anger over Strictly bullying scandal, body language expert reveals

Amanda Abbington tried to hide her emotions behind a 'polite bravado' but her true anger shone through when speaking of her children being targeted by trolls, a body language expert has claimed.

The Sherlock star, 50, who was speaking in an interview with Channel 4 about the Strictly bullying scandal last night, doubled down on allegations against her ex-dance partner Giovanni Pernice.

Speaking to MailOnline, British communications expert Judi James, said Amanda 'holds back very little' with her words and displays of emotions.

Amanda told presenter and fellow Strictly contestant, Krishnan Guru-Murthy, that alleged harassment received by trolls in recent months had been 'brutal and relentless and unforgiving'.

'As she says ‘brutal’ her eye contact with Krishnan is strong to make her point and her brows raise and her lips purse slightly as she nods her head in a baton gesture that comes with a small twist of what looks like anger or indignance,' Judi said. 

'The head-nod batons keep going as she says 'relentless' and when she says the word 'unforgiving' there is a micro-sneer gesture of disgust as the nod rate accelerates, but she bravely performs a polite smile over the top.'

While Amanda appears to compose herself when speaking of her own alleged harassment, her anger seeps through when speaking of her children being targeted, Judi added. 

'There is what looks like anger when she speaks of her children being targeted, plus a facial wince of pain at the thought. Her children produce tears. Her brows steeple and there is a long sniff as her eyes fill.

'As Amanda speaks of 'dozens a day..dozens' her voice cracks and she wipes away a tear with one hand. She performs an expression of disgust as she quotes them to Krishnan.'

Amanda previously alleged that Giovanni, who was suspended from the show after Amanda made formal complaints, was 'unnecessary, abusive, cruel and mean' in rehearsals. 

Giovanni has always denied any allegations of threatening or abusive behaviour. 

The actress quit the show in October last year citing 'personal reasons' before reports quickly surfaced that she had demanded footage of her rehearsals, claiming the show and Giovanni had left her with PTSD. 

It led the broadcaster to launch an official probe over claims of off-camera misconduct made by Amanda as well as other celebrities with the outcome of the investigation expected any day now.

A number of claims were made by Amanda throughout the 45-minute long interview last night, with one of the most shocking allegations being that Giovanni was trying to block 50 hours of rehearsal footage from being released. 

Amanda told Krishnan that producers on the BBC One programme had been left 'shocked and horrified' by the clips, some of which allegedly showed humiliating bullying 'of a sexual nature'.

The actress claimed she and her lawyer were trying to access 50 hours of rehearsal room footage that was filmed during their training sessions — and that Giovanni was trying to block the release of this 'toxic' footage. 

A spokesperson for Giovanni slammed the interview for containing 'very serious and defamatory allegations' that he claimed Amanda had no supporting evidence for.