Strictly fans convinced Amanda Abbington ‘secretly returned to studio’ after spotting ‘clue’ in the background of show
STRICTLY Come Dancing fans are convinced Amanda Abbington secretly returned to the show after her shock exit.
Amanda, 51, dramatically left the competition for good after pulling out of week five over “undisclosed medical reasons”.
The actress had been partnered with Giovanni Pernice, 33, but she failed to thank him in her exit statement.
It looks like she might have returned during Saturday’s show, though, according to some viewers.
They spotted a cloaked figure in the background of one shot and joked that it was the Sherlock star.
One wrote on Twitter, “#Strictly is that Amanda back in the cloak?”
And in a Reddit threated titled, “Anyone know who the cloaked person is in tonight’s show?” more had their say.
“Amanda?” and, “Amanda Abbington,” some wrote – with someone replying, “Haha I had a feeling it might be her ….”
After her departure, the London native shared a quote by the late actor and comedian Robin Williams – but then deleted it.
The post seemingly read: “People don’t fake depression… they fake being okay. Remember that. Be kind.”
Speaking of her exit, an insider told The Telegraph: “It could be that she didn’t know what she let herself in for.’
“From the very beginning they weren’t gelling. Obviously they were putting a brave face on it, but the issue was clearly not being solved.”
The source continued: “He was quite tough and she found that difficult. If she wasn’t very well, that wouldn’t have helped.
“She was with a partner that had a certain training style that she couldn’t cope with. Whether that came to a head or whether there’s something else going on I don’t know.”
Amanda herself had told she had been feeling “fragile” in a video shared by her fiancé Jonathan Goodwin.
She added that she “had welled up upstairs in tears thinking about having to put my dance shoes on again”.
The Sun reported last month how Amanda and her Italian dance partner Giovanni had clashed — with the actress threatening to quit over the dance pro’s “militant” attitude to training.