‘I lost all my friends’ - Strictly star Giovanni Pernice shares heartache after ‘bullying’ row
22 January 2025, 02:51
Strictly Come Dancing star Giovanni Pernice has opened up about his heartbreak following his exit from the BBC show, saying “all the people that were supposed to be my friend disappeared.”
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The Strictly star said he lost all his friends after his exit from Strictly, saying his ‘world collapsed’ and he was left alone after Amanda Abbington’s allegations of bullying.
Abbington accused the Italian dancer of “inappropriate, mean, nasty bullying" and creating a “toxic environment.”
An investigation into the actress's complaints about Pernice followed, with the BBC upholding "some, but not all" of the allegations.
Pernice has always denied the allegations.
Speaking on the first night of his tour, Last Dance, in High Wycombe on Monday, Giovanni spoke between performances and opened up about his life before and after the allegations were levied against him.
Before his withdrawal from Strictly, Giovanni says: “I like to think I became quite successful. I was selling out everywhere.”
“I was on a TV show with my best friend so I felt like I was at the top of my game.
“I was untouchable - a superhero. I felt like I had my army… my audience. But fate did have different plans for me.”
The Saturday night ballroom dancing show came under fire in the months following the scandal, as other celebrities reportedly made complaints against former professional dancers.
“You probably know it hasn't been the greatest year for me. I'm finally able to talk about it, I felt like the world collapsed.
“I didn't have anybody around me. People who were supposed to be my friends disappeared.
“I felt left alone. Nobody wanted to see me. They didn't want to be seen with me, because people would be like, 'Oh you're with him'.
He added that there was a voice in his head, telling him the scandal would be over some day and he didn’t need to worry.
Giovanni also thanked his 'idol', Queen’s Freddie Mercury, and said: “He would say to me, 'Giovanni, don't worry. Whatever happens, remember, the show has to go on.”
Giovanni continued: “I'm still standing and thank god I did that tour last year with my best friend who was the support of my life.
Finishing off the show, the dancer said: 'Remember this is not the last tour, this is the last dance because I'm going to be back in the summer with my best friend on the best tour. I love you so much.”
Just last week, Giovanni said he would "love to go back" to Strictly Come Dancing but feels the BBC show will not have him back after the scandal.
Discussing whether he could return to Strictly this year, Pernice, 34, told The Mail On Sunday: "I think they have closed the book on that and everyone has moved on.
"I would love to go back to Strictly because Strictly changed my life. It is a massive show, but I don't think they're going to have me back. They're not.
"I'm upset as well. It's been a great, great, great 10 years. I achieved everything. But it's not my choice, it's not my decision. Everybody has moved on."
The professional dancer, who joined the BBC dance competition in 2015, suggested he could "maybe" return to the show in a few years.
His current tour will run until May.
