Giovanni Pernice Breaks Silence As Strictly Come Dancing Investigation Findings Are Revealed

Giovanni Pernice has spoken out for the first time since the BBC revealed the results of an investigation into Strictly Come Dancing.

Earlier this year, it was revealed that Strictly was at the centre of an internal probe following complaints made about Giovanni’s alleged conduct by his former celebrity dance partner Amanda Abbington.

The Italian dancer had long refuted “any suggestion of abusive or threatening behaviour”, telling his Instagram followers: “I am co-operating fully with the ongoing BBC investigation, which will determine the truth,” he told his Instagram followers in June.

“As requested, I have stayed silent, but I am looking forward to the conclusion of the investigation and ultimately clearing my name and establishing the truth.”

On Monday afternoon, the BBC confirmed: “We have assessed the complaints and we have upheld some, but not all, of the complaints made. We want to apologise to Amanda Abbington and to thank her for coming forward and taking part. We know this would not have been an easy thing to do.”

A spokesperson for Giovanni also told HuffPost UK: “We are pleased that this six month review has not found any evidence of threatening or abusive behaviour by Giovanni.

“Giovanni is relieved that the overwhelming majority of allegations out to the BBC have not been upheld and looks forward to continuing his work on Dancing With The Stars in Italy this season.”

He later addressed the matter on Instagram, telling his followers: “It’s over. It’s finished. Six months, seven months of all of this. Seven months of reading, everyday, things in the newspaper and not being able to respond because I wanted to keep the confidentiality and privacy of the review, was a difficult time.

“It was difficult because, you know, reading stuff that [was] untrue, wasn’t the nicest time of my life, let’s be honest. But today I’m happy because, you know, at the beginning there were very very serious allegations thrown out at me, but as [of] today, none of the serious allegations have been upheld. All the threatening, abusive, harassment behaviour allegations have not been upheld.”

Giovanni continued: “Today is a day when we can all reflect [...] I appreciate that dancing is a very difficult thing to do. It’s a sport, it’s something that is difficult in every possible way and sometimes you get frustrated – as a teacher, as a dancer, as a performer.

“But the only reason why you get frustrated is because you care about what you do. As a professional, as a teacher, I care about, I want to get the best out of my partner, and sometimes I do get frustrated. I think everybody around the world does the same thing, it’s called being professional and I love doing that [...] I think it’s a normal thing but then you get out the best and the results come forward.

“But I’m happy because none of this serious allegation has been upheld.”

Thanking his supporters, Giovanni added: “Without your love, your messages, your support, your constant support, I don’t know if I would be able to even make this message right now.

“I’m happy because today I can carry on to do what I was born to do, and I love to do which is entertain all of you, because this is my life. This is what I do, so I’m always grateful to all of you and just want to say thank you from the bottom of my heart, and saying that I love you all and always, always thank you.”

HuffPost UK also contacted Amanda Abbington’s team for comment.

Giovanni did not return to Strictly Come Dancing for this year’s series, and recently debuted on the professional dancing team of the show’s Italian counterpart Ballando Con Le Stelle.

Ahead of Strictly’s return last month, it was revealed that several new changes were being implemented for this year’s series, most notably a member of the production team being present “at all times” in the rehearsal room.

“Concerns that have arisen in recent months have been fundamentally about training and rehearsals,” the BBC said in July. “[These new measures] are designed to address that.”

“As a matter of course, the BBC and BBC Studios takes duty of care extremely seriously and our processes on the show are updated every year, and we will continue to keep this under constant review. It is always important to look at whether there is more we should do,” they added.