Strictly Come Dancing alumnus Giovanni Pernice, one of the UK show’s most popular professional dancers who left under a cloud this year following allegations of abuse by his former celebrity partner, has admitted he thought the controversy would mark the end of his successful career.
Pernice was one of the biggest dance stars on the country’s biggest show until early 2024 when he was accused of abusive behaviour by actress Amanda Abbington, who quit the show in 2023 and later made a complaint about Pernice to the BBC.
Following an internal investigation, Pernice was cleared of ten out of 16 allegations of abusive behaviour, but the pressure meant he quit the show before the important 20th anniversary season in autum/winter of 2024.
He told The Mirror newspaper: “I’m not going to lie, there were dark moments in terms of, you know, this is finished, this is the end of my career. That was one of my down moments.
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“Sorry for my language but 2024 can f**k off. I’ve been looking forward to seeing the back of it.”
Regarding his former partner Abbington’s claims, he said: “Every time she came out with another interview I was always maintaining a calm inside. Trust me, it wasn’t easy, there were dark times.”
Despite his assessment of the year, Pernice enjoyed success elsewhere. He appeared in the BBC’s 20th anniversary special celebrating the success of Strictly Come Dancing, and is back on screen in Channel 4’s celebrity version of reality show Hunted. 2024 also saw him claim victory in the Italian version of the dancing show with his partner Banca Guaccero, and the pair recently confirmed their romance.
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