Former Strictly Come Dancing star Giovanni Pernice has reportedly signed up for his first British job since leaving the BBC show four years ago
Giovanni Pernice has signed up to his first British show, four years after being axed from Strictly Come Dancing, it has been claimed.
The professional dancer exited the BBC Latin and ballroom show following allegations made by Amanda Abbington about Giovanni’s alleged conduct during rehearsals together.
Amanda had accused him of being “unnecessary, abusive, cruel and mean” during rehearsals, something he has always strongly denied. The BBC later apologised to Amanda, 52, after an investigation upheld some of her complaints about the 35-year-old, but cleared him of the most serious allegations.
The investigation upheld complaints of bullying and harassment but claims of physical aggression were not upheld, the BBC reported. Following the allegations and report, he did not return to the show.
However, Giovanni is said to be appearing on a UK TV show for the first time since his Strictly exit and has now signed up to Celebrity SAS: Who Dares Win, secretly flying out to Thailand to film the competition.
“Producers are absolutely thrilled by the signing of Gio. He is a real housewives’ favourite and has an absolutely huge fan base, especially among women, so bosses are hopeful he may draw in a few Strictly fans. He is also incredibly fit and mentally resilient after years of professional dance training,” a source shared.
Giovanni is said to be “excited” to return to British TV and is looking forward to the challenge.
The source added to The Sun: “The fall-out from his Strictly exit was also pretty brutal and, frankly, Giovanni reckons there is nothing that can hurt him now. He is excited to get back to doing what he does best – entertaining and giving himself a real challenge. He is thrilled to be back on screens after a painfully long break. It promises to be an amazing series.”
Giovanni had previously been quizzed on whether a return to Strictly might be possible.
“I would love to go back on Strictly but I don’t think they’re going to have me on again,” he said, “It wasn’t the most pleasant situation for me. I’m very happy that it’s finished and everybody can move on with their lives.”
Giovanni instead moved to work on the Italian version of Strictly, Ballando con le Stelle. “It was nice to be able to have that (positive) communication with people, because once the results of the investigation came out, those people who had left me came back and I was like ‘Hmm, this is not nice,'” he said.
