Giovanni Pernice makes rare BBC Strictly nod following exit with show of support for current star

Giovanni Pernice has taken a clear step back from BBC’s Strictly Come Dancing after leaving the show following the controversy surrounding himself and his partner of last year, Amanda Abbington.

The 34-year-old dancer was embroiled in a “misconduct” scandal following his stint in the 2023 show, which saw actress Abbington making complaints about the dancer, ultimately leading to the launch of a BBC investigation into the programme.

Pernice denied the accusations made by the former Sherlock star, with the corporation upholding six of the 17 allegations made by the 52-year-old after the lengthy probe.

Dancer Pernice has since joined Ballando cone le Stelle, the Strictly equivalent of his home country of Italy, and has distanced himself from the BBC edition despite having starred on Strictly for almost 10 years.

The dancer is enjoying a successful run in the Italian version of the show, and frequent shares updates on social media thanking viewers for their votes and support.

However, the choreographer seems to have refused to mention this year’s Strictly series, with the former star not having interacted with any part of the show – until recently.

Pernice, who has seemingly refused to acknowledge the current series, has broken his silence by offering support to one of the couples on the show as he gave a subtle suggestion of reinforcement to the pair.

It comes after the latest episode, which aired on Saturday, saw dancer Amy Dowden having to pull out of Week Seven after she collapsed backstage.

Lauren Oakley was instead drafted in to replace Dowden and dance with her celebrity partner, JB Gill.

JLS star Gill, 37, ended up receiving a near-perfect score of 39 despite the last-minute change of plans, and following the performance the singer took to social media to express his relief.

Along with some snaps of himself, Oakley and Dowden, he penned: “Wow! What a weekend.

“I just want to say thank you to @lizzie.gough & @mrballchange for making my couples choice dance so special.

“You guys allowed @laurenmayoakley and I to shine brightly for @amy_dowden and do everyone proud.

“To my family and friends and EVERYONE supporting us and voting, you guys are the best and I’m SO HAPPY to continue this amazing journey, whatever challenges it throws at me!”

He concluded the celebratory post: “Still on cloud 9 and grateful to be through to another week.”

Surprisingly, Pernice took the opportunity to break his Strictly boycott and liked the post, demonstrating his support for the trio.

The move could be due to his strong friendship with Oakley, who joined him this year on his solo tour in spite of the controversy he was surrounded by.

LATEST DEVELOPMENTS

Tasha Ghouri’s dad issues stern defence of BBC Strictly star after new ‘ableist’ abuse over heartfelt routineBBC Strictly viewers outraged as ‘wrong person’ sent home in brutal axing: ‘Absolute nonsense’Shirley Ballas shouts ‘What more do you want?’ at BBC Strictly’s Craig Revel Horwood as pair engage in tense row

The 33-year-old partnered with Pernice during his This Is Me tour. She also offered support to Pernice and Anton Du Beke when she went to see the show they were starring in together earlier this year.

Pernice’s unexpected support of the show comes soon after he gave a rare interview about the scandal, candidly responding to questions on a recent episode of ITV’s Lorraine.

He insisted he wouldn’t be “changing” his teaching style despite the claims that were made against him.

He also detailed to host Christine Lampard his final message Abbington before the investigation was launched.

After citing “health conditions” as the original reason for her premature Strictly exit, Pernice detailed the final message he alleged he sent her.

“The last message was, ‘Please let me know how this can go, I want to help you, I’ll find you a doctor’.

“This was the last message I sent in the last conversation with Amanda,” Pernice claimed.