Giovanni Pernice addressed the Strictly Come Dancing scandal in his first television interview on Tuesday’s Lorraine.
Only recently, a review was launched by the BBC following Sherlock actress Amanda Abbington making complaints about her 2023 professional dance partner, Giovanni, 34.
The BBC have since apologised to Amanda, 50, and said: “We have assessed the complaints and we have upheld some, but not all, of the complaints made.” Giovanni has always denied the allegations and said he was “happy” after the investigation cleared him of the abuse allegations.
Appearing on Tuesday’s Lorraine, Giovanni vowed to set the record straight as he admitted he found the Strictly scandal ‘very concerning’. Talking about why he decided to speak out on Tuesday’s show, Giovanni said: “It’s the right time to do so”, adding that during the investigation both him and Amanda were asked to maintain confidentiality.
He said: “Finally the results are out, I’m able to talk about what happened and put the record straight from my side of the story.”
The show’s guest host, Christine Lampard, referenced Amanda’s previous interview on Lorraine earlier this year in which she described, in her own words, feeling like it was “bullying” and a “nasty mean place to be” in the studio, having approached the BBC by the third day of rehearsals during the first week, reports the Mirror.
Giovanni expressed alarm over the allegations as he responded to the claims: “That’s very concerning to me! Strictly is one of the shows where you put two people in the room, I personally didn’t know Amanda and Amanda didn’t know me so it’s very concerning the fact that even things like that after three days you already complain, in that case I need to get to know you in three days.”
Continuing to address the matter, he explained: “In three days, I need to know what you like, the way you work and what is good for you and what is not good for you. This is what Strictly is about, it’s about building a relationship with your partner. In that case you come to me, as I’m your partner, you come to me and say: ‘Listen, Giovanni, I don’t really like this’ or ‘Giovanni I like that’ but in three days, it’s very early days especially when you don’t know that person. I didn’t even know all of this was happening!”
When guest host Christine questioned if his teaching approach might be ‘too tough’, Giovanni defended his methods by retorting: “It depends what you want from Strictly Come Dancing!”, clarifying that if a victory was desired, he would pull out all stops to ensure success, adding: “I can’t read minds, I just do what you ask me to do!”
Towards the end of the interview, Giovanni concluded: “I’m happy that the results were positive for me, the allegations thrown out at the beginning were very strong, I’m happy that I can relax. We should all accept what the results say and move on!”
When quizzed about a potential return to Strictly as a professional dancer, Giovanni remarked: “Who knows, never say never!”
Amanda, who pulled out of the BBC One show last year citing “personal reasons”, had claimed she was subjected to a “toxic environment” and “inappropriate, mean, nasty bullying”.
A written statement from Amanda said it “was not an easy thing to do” to come forward, and she has been “accused of being a liar, a troublemaker and of being ‘mad and unstable'” and that she and her children had been threatened. Giovanni has always denied the allegations.
Sharing an Instagram post back in September following the investigation, Giovanni said he was “happy” that the investigation cleared him of allegations of abuse. The dancer said he was looking forward to “carrying on to do what I was born to do”.
It comes as chaperones have been put in place on Strictly during rehearsals for this year after the review launched by the BBC.
Lorraine continues on weekdays at 9am on ITV and ITV X.