Strictly Come Dancing star Giovanni Pernice is said not to be giving up hope on returning to the BBC show after being cleared of the allegations towards Amanda Abbington.
The long-awaited BBC report – which was released on Monday, September 30 – saw six out of 17 allegations upheld, some of which are for Pernice using swear words and being “belittling”.
The broadcaster issued an apology to Amanda Abbington after upholding a series of her bullying claims.
Pernice stepped away from the BBC series earlier this year and back at the beginning of September joined the Italian version of the dance show – Ballando con le Stelle.
His contract for the show is reported to only be for one series, with sources now claiming the 34-year-old is looking to return to the UK version.
One source told The Mirror: “Giovanni has not given up on appearing on the Strictly stage. As far as he is concerned, he has been cleared and there is no reason why he couldn’t return.
“He has told his pals he is hoping to be back next year and is keen to speak to the BBC about it. He still feels very much part of the fold and has a massive fan base who would no doubt welcome him back.
“But of course, the final decision will be made by BBC bosses.” GB News has contacted Pernice’s representatives for a comment.
Since the release of the BBC’s investigation, both Pernice and Abbington released a statement on the outcome – however, the former Sherlock star recently spoke out on the findings.
She joined Victoria Derbyshire on Newsnight where she said she had “no regrets” about lodging her complaints, despite receiving “hundreds” of death and rape threats.
Abbington explained: “It’s been one of the worst years of my life. I’ve been through a lot, women go through a lot, but it has been a very unpleasant, turbulent, relentless time in my life. I’ve had to deal with a myriad of horrible things.”
The 50-year-old added that in the last eight months, the number of threats she has received had “gone into the hundreds”.
“I had a credible death threat sent to my place of work, a theatre that I was working at, which was credible, and the police had to be called.
“I had a bomb threat sent to my place of work, threatening to blow the building up because I was pursuing this. I’ve had death threats sent to me, and my family.
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“I’ve had rape threats sent to my 15-year-old daughter. They were every day I’d be getting those and I have screenshots that have been handed over to the Met Police.”
Amanda shed light on the complexity of the situation: “There’s a 30-page report that me and my lawyers are still digesting. There are still things in there that are unresolved.”
