GIOVANNI Pernice will break his silence on the Strictly probe in his first interview since the scandal.
The BBC cleared Giovanni, 34, of ten of the 16 allegations made against him by partner Amanda Abbington when the £250k investigation wrapped last month.
Giovanni Pernice is set to speak out on the Strictly Come Dancing probe on Lorraine on Tuesday[/caption]
The pair danced together last year but Amanda quit the series[/caption]
The Sicilian will join Lorraine Kelly on her daytime chat show this morning.
A TV source said: “Amanda has conducted a number of interviews throughout the investigation on high-profile platforms like Channel 4 News but Giovanni was not able to do so as a BBC employee.
“Now it is complete, Giovanni is able to discuss certain things but most importantly, move forward with his career.
“He will chat to Lorraine about his upcoming solo tour The Last Dance and run of new dates for his gigs with Anton Du Beke.”
It comes after The Sun last week revealed Channel 4 had taken a reality series featuring the professional dancer off the shelf.
They will air Celebrity Hunted in the new year, after putting it in on ice amid the bullying claims.
Giovanni is currently taking part in Italy’s version of Strictly.
He relocated to Italy as Amanda spoke out about her ordeal on Newsnight following the BBC investigation.
She revealed her nightmare rehearsals with Gio got so bad she was actually relieved when a cancer scare meant she could quit the show.
The BBC apologised to the actress as she revealed her experience with him was “morbid and toxic”.
Amanda alleged Giovanni called her a “vegetable” — days after meeting her wheelchair-user fiancé.
After a backlash from Amanda and other former dance partners, Giovanni was at the centre of an escalating crisis.
During the investigation, he was further accused of using a shocking slur on an epileptic man in another BBC complaint.
He was accused of calling a dance show colleague a “s*****c” because of his epilepsy, BBC investigators were told.
The former Strictly pro was alleged to have made the remark when the pair were working on his Made In Italy tour last year.
But the Beeb dismissed it, telling the complainant: “The concerns you raise appear to relate to Mr Pernice’s conduct outside of his engagement with the BBC. This is therefore not a matter we would be able to look into.”
A spokeswoman for Giovanni said: “The allegation is upsetting as they had such a positive friendship on the tour.
“Even more alarming is the timing. We regard this conduct as a smear campaign.”
It comes as Giovanni is due to make a brief return to Strictly in a one off special celebriting the show’s 20 years on screen.
He’ll appear in footage from 2021 dancing with EastEnders star Rose Ayling-Ellis, who was the first deaf contestant to lift the Glitterball Trophy.
Strictly’s full scandal so far
Strictly Come Dancing’s scandal has been growing over the past few months, with several major players speaking out about what went on. Here are the key moments of what’s happened so far
16th May: Giovanni Pernice sensationally quits Strictly Come Dancing after nine years on the show.
17th May: Giovanni becomes the centre of an official investigation after three former partners – believed to be Amanda Abbington, Laura Whitmore and Ranvir Singh – make complaints to the BBC.
16th June: Giovanni releases an official statement vowing to clear his name and denies any wrongdoing.
8th July: Strictly confirms Aljaz Skorjanec will return to the series, replacing Giovanni, after initially quitting the show two years ago.
10th July: Amanda Abbington launches fresh legal proceedings to get the rehearsal footage from her time with Giovanni, after allegedly he refused to release the videos.
13th July: Graziano Di Prima is axed from Strictly for “gross misconduct” after footage of his treatment of Zara McDermott is brought to the attention of the BBC.
Graziano quickly broke his silence, apologising for his behaviour in a statement and saying he “deeply regrets it”, adding his “intense passion and determination to win might have affected his training regime.”
15th July: Strictly bosses implement new duty of care protocols, including having a chaperone present throughout all rehearsals.
16th July: Zara McDermott speaks out publicly for first time. She states while the production team were “amazing to work with”, she found the rehearsal room “completely different”, confirming there’s footage of “certain situations”.
19th July: Anton Du Beke is put under the spotlight for his “1970s attitude” and treatment of female celeb stars, particularly after allegedly referring to 2009 partner Laila Rouass as a “p***” after getting a spray tan.
21st July: Paralympian Will Bayley, who has limb condition arthrogryposis, revealed he was encouraged to leap from a table during a dance routine, despite fears. The stunt caused an injury that forced him to withdraw from the show.
22nd July: MasterChef’s Gregg Wallace admits he broke down in tears and got a nasty stress rash on his face during his time on Strictly in 2014.
22nd July: Despite ongoing issues, the Strictly professional cast begin rehearsals for this year’s series.
23rd July: Celebrity agent Melanie Blake claims she was sexually assaulted by an unnamed pro dancer while backstage on the show, and claims she witnessed ageism, rudeness and a rough treatment to the point of injury.
23rd July: Strictly is forced to beef up security after ‘an intruder scales the wall of the rehearsal studio’.
23rd July: BBC boss Tim Davie breaks his silence on the ongoing allegations against Strictly, saying he is ‘deeply sorry’, adding: “Hundreds of people, be they pros, contestants or crew have been part of it and had a brilliant experience.
“At the same time if someone thinks there was something wrong or they want to talk about their experience then of course we want them to raise that with us. Be in no doubt we will take it seriously, listen and deal with it as appropriate.”
24th July: Strictly 2023 star Krishnan Guru-Murthy holds a bombshell interview with Amanda Abbington on Channel 4 news, where she claims she was bullied, with some of the ‘humilation being of a sexual nature’.
27th July: Laura Whitmore releases a statement regarding her Strictly experience, saying “I thought my experience was specific to me but I’ve since learned I was wrong”.
She adds she is not part of the official complaint, but has come forward to support Amanda with the BBC, alongside others.
28th July: Laila Rouass speaks out against the accusations regarding Anton Du Beke, saying she “never felt pressured” by him and “personally insisted on six to seven hours training a day”.
10th August: Graziano breaks his silence on his Strictly axe, saying “these vile, false allegations have ruined my life.”
He also told of the “shocking” end to his friendship with Zara McDermott.
We also revealed that Amanda Abbington was also quizzed for a second time as Strictly execs recruited 15 new staff to monitor rehearsals.
11th August: Just as the investigation was expected to conclude, Amanda made a dramatic intervention. Giovanni was on the brink of being cleared until Amanda handed in more text messages.
24th August: Graziano Di Prima called in top lawyers to sue the BBC and to try to clear his name. He recruited big hitters Whitestone Chambers to fight his corner.
A source said: “They’ve also looked at his BBC contract and believe there are grounds to sue.”
Meanwhile, the BBC also delayed releasing the findings of the probe into Giovanni Pernice. The Sun revealed that the results of the three-month investigation were unlikely to be announced in August.
