Giovanni Pernice has made headlines throughout the year after the 34-year-old dancer was caught up in the Strictly Come Dancing scandal, with a BBC investigation into “misconduct” leading to his departure from the series.
Pernice has continued to deny claims made by actress Amanda Abbington that he had been “abusive” towards her during training when they were paired in last year’s show, causing her to drop out of the series early. However, Pernice has been able to join Italy’s version of the BBC competition and, announcing this to fans on Saturday, his disdain for the broadcaster was clear as he snubbed any mention of the original programme.
It was reported earlier on Saturday that Pernice would be joining Ballando cone le Stelle, Italy’s version of Strictly, when it returns next week.
In view of his 1.1million Instagram followers, the choreographer later confirmed the news himself as he gleefully shared the update from Italy.
However, he made no mention of the BBC series he has starred in since 2015, instead referring to Ballando cone le Stelle as Italy’s answer to Dancing with the Stars – the US version of the show which debuted a year after Strictly first hit screens in 2004.
“Hi everyone, it’s me Giovanni. Hope everyone is having a nice rest of the summer,” he began as spoke directly to the camera for the social media update.
He continued: “I’m here in Portofino, and I just finished two fantastic weeks with my family.
“But I’m here to give you some exciting news, because I can finally reveal that from next week, I will be joining the cast of Ballando cone le Stelle, which is the equivalent of Dancing with the Stars – the Italian version.
“Of course, I’m excited because finally, I’m back on the dance floor and hopefully I will create some new magic on the dance floor. So I’m very, very very happy.”
He went on to make the announcement in Italian to cater for audiences from his home country.
Earlier on Saturday, an insider told The Mail on Sunday: “Gio is thrilled, he has been hoping that it would happen, he had everything crossed.
“He is so excited that he can keep on dancing and what makes it all the more lovely is that it will be in his home country.
“The deadline has been looming and the BBC has been on pause with its result but the Ballando bosses love him, they adore him, and they have now signed him.
“It is absolutely horrendous for Gio. He has been stuck in limbo and has been unable to move on with his life. It will be a lovely, lovely boost for him.”
The Italian edition off the beloved series kicked off back in 2005, a year after the UK show debuted on screens.
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The UK’s show became shrouded in controversy when Abbington decided to pull out of the show on week five following reports of a feud between herself and Pernice. Later, she made complaints about the dancer’s “abusive” behaviour towards her.
Pernice has continued to deny the claims but left the show ahead of this year’s series. As part of the probe into Strictly, his co-star Grazianno Di Prima was axed from the professional line-up over similar accusations.
While concerns over the show’s future were rife, it seems the 2024 series is set to kick off as normal later this month.
The BBC announced it would be introducing some new measures as a result of the investigation, but this year’s group of famous faces were announced at the end of last month.
