Giovanni Pernice 'quits' Strictly Come Dancing – after Amanda Abbington row
Giovanni Pernice has reportedly told friends that he will not be returning for the next series of Strictly Come Dancing. It comes after his 2023 partner Amanda Abbington shared that she had been diagnosed with PTSD following her stint on the show.
An inside source has told The Sun: "Gio feels the scrutiny on him has become too much, and now is the time to make a fresh start.
"He wants to focus on other TV projects, and feels he’s achieved all he can on Strictly, having won the trophy back in 2021 and reaching the final an unprecedented four times."
They continued: "He remains adamant he’s done nothing wrong other than being a hard taskmaster, but knows his style of training isn’t to everyone’s liking — especially in this day and age. He has a lot of other exciting projects in the pipeline right now, and he’s just super-excited to get cracking on them. This, now, is his priority."
In a statement to OK!, the BBC said: "The professional dancers for 2024 will be announced in due course." OK! has contacted Giovanni's reps for comment.
It comes after the BBC were said to be welcoming Giovanni back "with open arms", as there had been no official complaints lodged against the star. However, it now is reported that Giovanni has opted to walk away from the show.
Following her claims that she had developed PTSD, it was reported that Amanda had met up with Ranvir Singh and Laura Whitmore, both of whom were paired with Giovanni during their time on Strictly, to discuss their time with the professional dancer.
Ranvir, who took part in the competition in 2020, is alleged to have complained about Giovanni to producers during their time on the show about being unhappy. Meanwhile, Laura said she "cried every day" and felt "uncomfortable" while dancing with Giovanni in 2016.
Laura wrote about her Strictly appearance in 2018 and said: "I’m still not ready to talk in depth about my experience on the show. I was placed with a dance partner I was extremely uncomfortable with – and in the end I felt broken. I cried every day. And I really was broken, both mentally and physically, by the end."
During an appearance on The One Show, Giovanni defended the way in which he trains his celebrity partners. He said: "I'm definitely a perfectionist. Like everybody else, I like to win. But for me it's more about bringing the best out of partners, especially if I see that there is talent there. I want to do my job properly."
And a source close to the dancer, told The Mirror: "Gio finds some of these allegations deeply unfair and offensive. He believes he’s done nothing wrong, and simply wants to get the best out of his partners."
