Earlier this week, the BBC released the 2024 Strictly Come Dancing professional line-up, officially confirming that Giovanni Pernice will not be returning to the show this year.
This news of course follows months of allegations about the Italian dancer from his past celebrity partners.
While Giovanni has vehemently denied “any suggestion of abusive or threatening behaviour”, he has so far remained silent on this most recent update.
Nevertheless, the 33-year-old dancer is said to have been left “sad” and “hurt” at the loss of his “dream job”.
Giovanni ‘hurt’ by Strictly Come Dancing exit
According to MailOnline, a friend of Giovanni’s commented: “This is the end of Gio and Strictly. It is a real shame, but there is no way back now – it’s over. He’s a tough guy but all of this has really hurt him. Gio absolutely loved entertaining the show’s very loyal audience for many, many years but he also loves teaching his partners to dance.”
This year would have been Giovanni’s 10th on Strictly, where he had become hugely popular amongst the show’s audience. After reaching the final three times, he memorably lifted the glitterball with Rose Ayling-Ellis in 2021.
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“It was his dream job, watching their journey, seeing them improve. But even if this all goes away and the investigation finds in his favour, he just couldn’t go back next year,” the source continued.
A second friend apparently said the whole scandal has “left a very bad taste”.
But in spite of everything, Giovanni’s pals claimed “Giovanni is buoyed up so much by the support from his fans”. It’s claimed they are what is “very much keeping a smile on his face”.
They even suggested there may be a way back for the professional dancer, warning: “Don’t expect this to just go away. Anyone who knows Gio knows that he will always stand up for himself, he will always say the truth.”
ED! has contacted Gio’s reps for comment. The BBC refused to comment.
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