Giovanni Pernice has finally broken his silence on Amanda Abbington’s Strictly Come Dancing.
The 51-year-old actress reportedly sought legal advice because of Giovanni’s alleged behaviour towards her, when they were partnered together on the show last year.
These claims came after the Sherlock actress announced her sudden departure from the show back in October, sighting “personal reasons” as her reason for not being able to continue.
Speaking on The Mirror’s Invite Only podcast alongside fellow dancer Anton Du Beke, the professional dancer said: “It’s a shame because, in my opinion, [Amanda] could have gone all the way.”
While judge Anton added: “I thought you and Amanda were marvellous. I thought you were terrific” and compared the Sherlock actress’ talents to 2019 winner Kelvin Fletcher.
Following accusations of his “militant” teaching style Giovanni admitted that was a “perfectionist” but said it came from a “perspective of caring” and that he believed all other professional dancers were the same.
He continued: “In every single part of the world, if you’re a professional dancer on one of these [Strictly] shows, you have to get these people looking the best they can on Saturday night’.”
“And if we have good scores at the end, I do look back and say, ‘I’ve done a great job’. But we all care about our partners and we want that for them every single week; to look great on a Saturday.”
He went on: “There’s no specific way that you are, or have to be with your celebrity. You make the most of their strengths so the only thing that’s constant is the fact that you have to do a show on Saturday night.”
The pro-dancer has come under fire after Amanda claimed she suffered PTSD after her time on the show.
The actress isn’t the first star to clash with him, as his former dance partner and Good Morning Britain presenter Ranvir Singh also admitted to being a “bit scared” of the Italian.
It was also later revealed that Ranvir complained to the BBC about his behaviour.
Irish presenter Laura Whitmore also claimed she was left feeling “extremely uncomfortable” during her time working with Giovanni, and that she “cried every day.”
According to The Sun, BBC bosses had a meeting with the dancer as per Amanda’s request but are said to be standing by the pro-dancer.
A source told the news outlet: “Some of the professionals and crew feel it needs to be dealt with and Giovanni shouldn’t come back this year.”
“The BBC are standing behind Giovanni and won’t be pursing an investigation, it’s a shock to some on the show.”
Another source told The UK Mirror at the time: “The feeling is he is a tough taskmaster, but hasn’t bullied or abused anyone. The BBC see him as a key face of Strictly and will do all they can to support him.”
