Giovanni Pernice says he worried Strictly claims would end career: ‘There were dark moments’
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Professional dancer won Italian equivalent of ‘Strictly’ months after BBC probe. Giovanni Pernice has said he thought his career would end when the BBC launched an investigation into his teaching methods on Strictly Come Dancing. The professional dancer was axed from the show after his 2023 celebrity dance partner, Sherlock star Amanda Abbington, had claimed she was subjected to a “toxic environment” and “inappropriate, mean, nasty bullying” behaviour during her time on the show.
![[Amanda Abbington and Giovanni Pernice were paired together on ‘Strictly Come Dancing’]](https://static.independent.co.uk/2024/09/30/14/2279157535172cfa7aabbeb17783b56dY29udGVudHNlYXJjaGFwaSwxNzI3Nzg2ODcz-2.73852397.jpg)
Pernice denied the allegations of abusive or threatening behaviour while the BBC upheld some, but not all, of the complaints made, and issued an apology to Abbington. The review had no findings relating to physical aggression but upheld accusations of swearing and giving negative feedback.
![[Pernice with his former ‘Strictly’ partner Rose Alyling-Ellis]](https://static.independent.co.uk/2024/12/04/02/c98cc8a79e8c9be34abf8dd454936a4fY29udGVudHNlYXJjaGFwaSwxNzMzMzI4MTQ2-2.64841515.jpg)
“I’m not going to lie, there were dark moments in terms of (me thinking) this is finished, this is the end of my career. That was one of my down moments,” he told the publication. He added: “Sorry for my language but 2024 can f*** off. I’ve been looking forward to seeing the back of it.”.
![[Giovanni Pernice and his dance partner turned girlfriend Bianca Guaccero]](https://static.independent.co.uk/2024/12/22/10/Screenshot-2024-12-22-at-10.12.02.jpg)
Speaking about the investigation and claims against him, he said: “I know what I did – that kept me calm, because I knew the truth from the beginning. I was expecting and waiting that all of this would finish and come back with the results that I wanted it to be.”.
