AMANDA Abbington has landed a new role in a tiny theatre tucked behind a a pub, following her Strictly scandal.
Actress Amanda, 50, best known for her role in the hit BBC detective drama Sherlock, is set to star in (This Is Not A) Happy Room at the King’s Head Theatre in Islington.
The venue has a modest capacity of 180 seats.
Despite its cosy setting, ticket sales for the preview performance on March 26 have reportedly been slow, with only 64 seats sold as of yesterday.
Tickets for the production range from £10 to £35.
Amanda, who shares two children with The Office and Sherlock star Martin Freeman, stars alongside Outlander actress Rosie Day, who also wrote the play.
The dark comedy has been described as “Saltburn meets Schitt’s Creek”.
A source told The Mail on Sunday, “You have to wonder if Amanda hadn’t got herself entangled in the whole row with Giovanni whether she might have something a little more high-profile and better paid.”
“It is such a shame they fell out. If they hadn’t, they could have won Strictly and Amanda would be the most sought-after woman in town.
“But she felt she needed to speak up for other women. Arguably, you have to wonder whether that came at a cost.”
Meanwhile, a police investigation into a death threat sent to Amanda has widened.
The actress received a chilling email earlier this year warning she would “die on stage” unless she retracted a complaint about her former Strictly partner, Giovanni Pernice.
[bc_video account_id=”5067014667001″ application_id=”” aspect_ratio=”16:9″ autoplay=”” caption=”My Strictly ordeal with Giovanni was so toxic I was relieved when cancer scare meant I could quit, says Amanda Abbington” embed=”in-page” experience_id=”” height=”100%” language_detection=”” max_height=”360px” max_width=”640px” min_width=”0px” mute=”” padding_top=”56%” picture_in_picture=”” player_id=”default” playlist_id=”” playsinline=”” sizing=”responsive” video_id=”6362884215112″ video_ids=”” width=”640px”]Authorities have since traced the email to a computer at a London university building and are now reviewing CCTV footage to identify the sender.
A source close to Amanda told The Sun on Sunday: “She’s very relieved the police are continuing to try and find this person.
“Since leaving Strictly and making her complaint about what’s happened, Amanda’s received an absolute onslaught of threats and abuse.
“People have sent her rape threats and also threatened her children.
“But this one was particularly sinister and chilling. It left her totally terrified.
“Amanda just wants to make sure whoever sent it is caught so that nobody else has to go through what she has.”
The message was to the Park Theatre in north Finchley, London, in August where Amanda was performing in When It Happens To You At the time the BBC were coming towards the end of a complex probe into allegations she made about her former dance partner.
In their report – which was released in September – the BBC upheld six of the 17 complaints Amanda made and apologised publicly to her.
Their probe ruled that Giovanni had been guilty of bullying behaviour.
In an exclusive interview, she later told us how her stint on the show had been toxic.
A Metropolitan Police spokesperson said officers were still investigating an “alleged malicious communication”.
