Giovanni Pernice reveals he has the backing of all Strictly judges days before the release of ‘bullying’ investigation
GIOVANNI Pernice has revealed that he has the backing of all the Strictly Come Dancing judges after making a new announcement with two more members of the panel.
The pro dancer quit the BBC contest earlier this year after becoming embroiled in a scandal following complaints about his conduct on the show initiated by former partner, the actress Amanda Abbington.
Gio has been at the centre of the Strictly scandal that has plagued the show all year and resulted in fewer women than ever agreeing to take part in the competition.
Now, in a very telling move, Gio has proved that he has the backing of all of the Strictly judges after previously gaining support from two members of the panel.
In a positive move for the star, both Motsi Mabuse and Craig Revel Horwood will be appearing alongside the star at a very special dance training session in London next month in a telling display of unity.
The trio will be teaching people a slew of dance styles back to back as part of Gio’s Ballando Dance classes.
Having Craig and Motsi on board will be a huge boost to the under-fire dancer as he awaits the results of a bombshell BBC investigation that is set to determine if any wrongdoing occurred on his part.
Giovanni has always refuted the allegations made against him by Amanda and others who have spoken with the BBC as part of the investigation.
The news that Craig and Motsi are sticking with the star comes after fellow members of the panel Anton Du Beke and Shirley Ballas previously threw their support behind the embattled pro dancer.
Anton has been touring up and down the country alongside Gio throughout the scandal as part of their nationwide duo tour.
Gio and Anton have shared the stage most nights as more reports emerged surrounding the show’s ever-evolving scandal.
Elsewhere, Shirley has also been staunchly behind the star and has spoken out in support of him in a number of interviews.
In an exclusive interview with The Sun earlier this year she revealed they were in regular contact as she could not speak more highly of the star.
Shirley said: “I have known Giovanni for ten years.
“He has always been to me, — and I will make that clear, to me — a perfect gentleman.
“I know he is a hard worker.
“He wants people to do the very best that they can do.
“Obviously, in my life, I was bullied a lot.
“I don’t condone bullying on any path.
“But I don’t believe gossip because things are blown way out of all proportion and it can turn into a great big snowball.
“So my feeling for Giovanni is, let them do this investigation and the truth will come out.
“So we don’t judge anybody until I know absolutely, 100 percent.”
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”.
