Giovanni Pernice accused of using shocking slur on epileptic man in further BBC complaint
GIOVANNI Pernice called a dance show colleague a “s*****c” because of his epilepsy, BBC investigators were told.
The former Strictly pro was alleged to have made the remark when the pair were working on his Made In Italy tour last year.
But the Beeb dismissed it, telling the complainant: “The concerns you raise appear to relate to Mr Pernice’s conduct outside of his engagement with the BBC. This is therefore not a matter we would be able to look into.”
The stage worker, who lives in London, went to the BBC after hearing of actress Amanda Abbington’s struggles on Strictly.
He told The Sun: “I felt I had similar allegations and that is why I made the complaint.
“I felt Giovanni thought what he said was funny.
“My allegation added weight to Amanda’s. It’s disappointing they didn’t want to listen.”
The man, who works in stage production, claims the word “s*****c” was used about him but that he did not feel able to speak out as he needed the job.
A spokeswoman for Giovanni said: “The allegation is upsetting as they had such a positive friendship on the tour.
“Even more alarming is the timing. We regard this conduct as a smear campaign.”
Strictly Theatre Company’s tour manager Gary Alce said: “I was surprised to hear about this allegation.
“When you are on a long theatre tour like Made in Italy, everyone becomes very close. We work together every day to ensure the show is a success every night.
“Everyone in our industry will know that there is a lot of hard work, and a fair bit of friendly banter, especially amongst the crew.
“The person making these allegations was absolutely part of that. In fact, they shared a very close relationship with Giovanni.
The allegation is upsetting as they had such a positive friendship on the tour
Spokeswoman for Giovanni
“The pair of them were often laughing and joking around for everyone to see, calling each other names, but nothing ever crossed the line.
“The person who is making these allegations suffered very badly from epilepsy which we were unaware of when we hired him. This stopped them being able to do the primary job they were hired for due to very serious safety concerns.
“Giovanni went out of his way to ensure that this person continued to work with us, both on the Made in Italy Tour, as well as his future tours.
“When the tour ended, we offered this person another job on one of our tours, and would have been delighted to have them back with us.”
Yesterday, Amanda alleged Giovanni called her a “vegetable” — days after meeting her wheelchair-user fiancé.