GIOVANNI Pernice has spoken out for the first time about his Strictly Come Dancing scandal with Amanda Abbington in a tense new live interview.
During the appearance, which saw the professional dancer on This Morning, the former BBC star awkwardly clashed with the show presenters and appeared to laugh when hearing Amanda’s side of the story.
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The Italian dancer found himself at the centre of an investigation by the BBC in mid 2024 when Sherlock star Amanda, who teamed up with Gio on the 2023 series, accused him of bullying and harassment.
The 34-year-old Sicilian was probed over 16 allegations in total, with the broadcaster clearing him on 10 counts, but upholding six of the complaints.
Amanda – who opened up to The Sun about the ordeal at the time – was issued an apology by the BBC and received a payout.
On Tuesday, Giovanni returned to the small screen to give his side of the story while promoting his new memoir, Gio: Taking The Lead.
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However, the interview – conducted by show hosts Christine Lampard and Craig Doyle – saw Giovanni seemingly clash with the presenters as they grilled him over the ordeal.
While Giovanni attempted to glaze over the ordeal, claiming his language used with Amanda was the ‘tone she set’ in the room, Craig continued to question whether he felt remorse over how the situation unfolding.
A clearly frustrated Giovanni told the presenter: “I’m not here to justify myself.
“I moved to a different country, I won the show there, became second last year, I have a beautiful girlfriend, so I did have my small revenges in life.”
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The dancer was referencing his recent win on Ballando con le Stelle, which is the Italian version of Strictly, and his new girlfriend Bianca Guaccero.
During the interview, Christine was seen reading out quotes from Amanda after the show reached out to her for a right of reply.
As she was going over Amanda’s comments – which accused Giovanni of attempting to downplay the situation – Giovanni could be seen on the sofa letting out a laugh at her comments before licking his lips and promptly returning to a serious face.
He then claimed to feel no negativity towards Amanda.
The interview split show viewers, as some were unhappy he had been given the morning TV slot, whilst others felt host Craig was too harsh.
“Wasn’t a chat more like a one sided interrogation #giovanni #thismorning” wrote one viewer.
Another said: “I think Craig was being really harsh”.