Giovanni Pernice looks care free on holiday amid Strictly’s ‘six figure’ investigation into Amanda Abbington’s claims
GIOVANNI Pernice looked like he doesn’t have a care in the world after spending the day lounging on a yacht.
The Strictly Come Dancing star, who is central to a ‘six-figure’ investigation by the BBC into his conduct, brushed off the ongoing furore to spend a day by the ocean.
In new photos on Instagram, Gio was seen sipping wine on the luxury boat and topping up his tan in sopping wet black swimming trunks.
Wearing shades as he smiled, Giovanni was seen leaning against the edge of the vessel as he spends time in his native Italy.
He simply captioned the pics: “September”, with dozens of fans swarming to celebrate him looking in such good spirits.
One wrote: “Lovely to see you relaxed and happy again, you will be missed on strictly but you will have bigger things ahead of you anyway xx”
“Looking rather there Gio! Will miss you so much in Strictly this year but can’t wait to see you in February! ” said a second.
A third wrote: “Great photos Gio enjoy your well deserved break ”
While a fourth said: “So happy to see your beautiful smile! Enjoy your time at home with your family. Wishing you a happy birthday on Thursday! xxx”
Giovanni is usually scheduled to be deep in rehearsals for Strictly Come Dancing at this time of year, but he quit the series shortly before news into an investigation into his conduct had been launched.
Instead, he’s been spending time with family and friends in Italy and on the Sicilian coast.
Amanda Abbington, who was partnered with Giovanni in the 2023 series, has since confirmed she was behind the complaint, with several other former partners being interviewed since.
She accuses him of having a “militant” training style, at times being “disastrously unworkable” with a “mean” attitude.
Giovanni has strenuously denied the claims and has vowed to clear his name, with the star seemingly being supported by all four judges, who have since done specialist workshops at Gio’s dance school, Ballando.
The BBC have spent over £100,000 while they investigate their claims, hiring two former Met Police officers to spearhead it.
The outcome of the investigation, which has been rumbling on for nearly five months, has been delayed after new evidence came to light.
As a result, other TV shows have been reluctant to offer the Italian dancer big money deals in case he’s found guilty – and could have potentially lost him up to £350,000 in missed TV opportunities.
The investigation also resulted in another dancer, Graziano Di Prima, being fired from the show from misconduct after footage of his behaviour against Zara McDermott came to light.
Strictly returns to our screens for its 20th anniversary later this month.
Strictly's full scandal so far
Strictly Come Dancing's scandal has been growing over the past few months, with several major players speaking out about what went on. Here are the key moments of what's happened so far
16th May: Giovanni Pernice sensationally quits Strictly Come Dancing after nine years on the show.
17th May: Giovanni becomes the centre of an official investigation after three former partners – believed to be Amanda Abbington, Laura Whitmore and Ranvir Singh – make complaints to the BBC.
16th June: Giovanni releases an official statement vowing to clear his name and denies any wrongdoing.
8th July: Strictly confirms Aljaz Skorjanec will return to the series, replacing Giovanni, after initially quitting the show two years ago.
10th July: Amanda Abbington launches fresh legal proceedings to get the rehearsal footage from her time with Giovanni, after allegedly he refused to release the videos.
13th July: Graziano Di Prima is axed from Strictly for “gross misconduct” after footage of his treatment of Zara McDermott is brought to the attention of the BBC.
Graziano quickly broke his silence, apologising for his behaviour in a statement and saying he “deeply regrets it”, adding his “intense passion and determination to win might have affected his training regime.”
15th July: Strictly bosses implement new duty of care protocols, including having a chaperone present throughout all rehearsals.
16th July: Zara McDermott speaks out publicly for first time. She states while the production team were “amazing to work with”, she found the rehearsal room “completely different”, confirming there’s footage of “certain situations”.
19th July: Anton Du Beke is put under the spotlight for his “1970s attitude” and treatment of female celeb stars, particularly after allegedly referring to 2009 partner Laila Rouass as a “p***” after getting a spray tan.
21st July: Paralympian Will Bayley, who has limb condition arthrogryposis, revealed he was encouraged to leap from a table during a dance routine, despite fears. The stunt caused an injury that forced him to withdraw from the show.
22nd July: MasterChef’s Gregg Wallace admits he broke down in tears and got a nasty stress rash on his face during his time on Strictly in 2014.
22nd July: Despite ongoing issues, the Strictly professional cast begin rehearsals for this year’s series.
23rd July: Celebrity agent Melanie Blake claims she was sexually assaulted by an unnamed pro dancer while backstage on the show, and claims she witnessed ageism, rudeness and a rough treatment to the point of injury.
23rd July: Strictly is forced to beef up security after ‘an intruder scales the wall of the rehearsal studio’.
23rd July: BBC boss Tim Davie breaks his silence on the ongoing allegations against Strictly, saying he is ‘deeply sorry’, adding: “Hundreds of people, be they pros, contestants or crew have been part of it and had a brilliant experience.
“At the same time if someone thinks there was something wrong or they want to talk about their experience then of course we want them to raise that with us. Be in no doubt we will take it seriously, listen and deal with it as appropriate.”
24th July: Strictly 2023 star Krishnan Guru-Murthy holds a bombshell interview with Amanda Abbington on Channel 4 news, where she claims she was bullied, with some of the ‘humilation being of a sexual nature’.
27th July: Laura Whitmore releases a statement regarding her Strictly experience, saying “I thought my experience was specific to me but I’ve since learned I was wrong”.
She adds she is not part of the official complaint, but has come forward to support Amanda with the BBC, alongside others.
28th July: Laila Rouass speaks out against the accusations regarding Anton Du Beke, saying she “never felt pressured” by him and “personally insisted on six to seven hours training a day”.
10th August: Graziano breaks his silence on his Strictly axe, saying “these vile, false allegations have ruined my life.”
He also told of the “shocking” end to his friendship with Zara McDermott.
We also revealed that Amanda Abbington was also quizzed for a second time as Strictly execs recruited 15 new staff to monitor rehearsals.
11th August: Just as the investigation was expected to conclude, Amanda made a dramatic intervention. Giovanni was on the brink of being cleared until Amanda handed in more text messages.
24th August: Graziano Di Prima called in top lawyers to sue the BBC and to try to clear his name. He recruited big hitters Whitestone Chambers to fight his corner.
A source said: “They’ve also looked at his BBC contract and believe there are grounds to sue.”
Meanwhile, the BBC also delayed releasing the findings of the probe into Giovanni Pernice. The Sun revealed that the results of the three-month investigation were unlikely to be announced in August.