Giovanni Pernice has broken his silence about his future at the BBC as he cast doubt over his return to Strictly after a tumultuous year.
The professional dancer, 34, admitted he needed a ‘break’ after the BBC launched a misconduct investigation into his behaviour following allegations of bullying from Amanda Abbington.
The BBC cleared the Sicilian of ten out of 16 allegations when its probe concluded in September.
And now speaking for the first time about his future with the BBC, Giovanni confessed he needs a break as he admitted Strictly is ‘tiring’.
Speaking on the How To Be Famous podcast with former Strictly contestant Debbie McGee’s nephew James Phelan, Giovanni said: ‘As I said before, you never know what is going to be next.
‘Strictly, like every other of those jobs when you have to give your life 100 per cent – they are quite tiring you know?
Giovanni Pernice has broken his silence on his future at the BBC as he admitted he is ‘tired’ following Amanda Abbington bullying row
The professional dancer, 34, admitted he needed a ‘break’ after the BBC launched a misconduct investigation into his behaviour following allegations of bullying from Amanda
‘When I said I need a break, I need a break, but never say never?’
Giovanni also hinted at the end of his Adventures In travel series with Strictly judge and close pal Anton, 58.
The pair previously visited Giovanni’s native Sicily and Spain, however Giovanni admitted they are unsure of the show’s future.
He confessed: ‘No we don’t know yet. I think the budget for the BBC is quite low so we just keep doing what we are doing.
‘It’s a shame because it was a successful show, I think it had over four to five million viewers.’
The BBC declined to comment when approached by MailOnline.
Amanda quit the show abruptly in just week five of last year’s series, citing personal reasons, before going on to accuse the dancer of ‘mean’ and ‘cruel’ behaviour.
It was later revealed Giovanni wouldn’t return for this year’s 20th anniversary series as the BBC conducted an investigation into his behaviour.
Giovanni also hinted at the end of his Adventures In travel series with Strictly judge and close pal Anton Du Beke
He confessed: ‘No we don’t know yet. I think the budget for the BBC is quite low so we just keep doing what we are doing. It’s a shame because it was a successful show, I think it had over four to five million viewers’
Amanda quit the show abruptly in just week five of last year’s series, citing personal reasons, before going on to accuse the dancer of ‘mean’ and ‘cruel’ behaviour
While Giovanni was cleared of 10 claims, six were upheld, some included bullying and harassment, which prompted an apology from BBC bosses.
The BBC also agreed with Amanda that at times he appeared to be giving her overly negative feedback.
Speaking on the podcast Giovanni laughed as he was asked if he had ever thought ‘for God’s sake’ when paired with a celebrity partner.
Laughing, he admitted: ‘Yes, a few times, a few times, but that is the truth, that is the reality. If you brought me here and any of the professional dancers said “no” – it’s a lie.
‘But as a good professional you just deal with it, make it work until the end and try to get out of it as much as you can.’
A source previously told The Sun that Giovanni’s return to Strictly would not be possibly after they issued a public apology to Amanda.
They said: ‘While it’s recognised Giovanni remains popular with a lot of Strictly viewers, there is a robust acceptance that he can’t return to the show, ever.
‘His time on Strictly is over. There’s no way back for him.
While Giovanni was cleared of 10 claims, six were upheld, some included bullying and harassment, which prompted an apology from BBC bosses
‘That’s not a formal punishment, that’s a decision taken at a corporate level, concerned with protecting the reputation of what is a huge Saturday night family show.’
It comes after Giovanni insisted he holds no ill will towards Amanda after being cleared of the majority of bullying allegations.
Giovanni admitted he would have a ‘nice cup of tea’ with the 50-year-old actress if he was in the same room with her now so that they could talk through things.
But he denied that the pair ever fought in the rehearsal room, claiming they ‘never had an argument’ and he was unaware she was uncomfortable until she made the allegations months later.
When asked on Lorraine, which was hosted by Christine Lampard if he would want to say sorry to Amanda if he was in a room with her now, Giovanni said: ‘I think we would have a nice cup of tea, we’ll have a chat and talk about what happened in that room.
‘It’s very difficult, because at that time everything was perfect.’
Giovanni added: ‘Me and Amanda never had an argument. Yes, she does obviously say that she was deeply uncomfortable, and that was after six months, but why you didn’t come at that time.’
He continued: ‘You would come to me and say, “We’re not getting along”, then I probably will have a chat like every other relationship, we would have a chat and we talk it through and we try to make it better.
Giovanni is currently competing on Ballando Con Le Stelle’ (Dancing with the Stars Italy) alongside his celebrity contestant, actress and singer Bianca Guaccero
‘But realistically, me and Amanda we never had an argument. We always have discussion about steps. Yes, we did have meetings with the BBC, but we always come forward from there. I did have a meeting with the BBC with all my other partners.’
Despite being cleared of the majority of Amanda’s complaints and expressing it had been a difficult year, Giovanni went on to say that he supported Amanda speaking out if she thought something had happened, and said that anyone else should do so in that situation.
‘It’s good that Amanda came forward to talk about something she thought happened,’ he said.
‘It’s important if something, if you don’t feel right, it’s important that you talk to somebody. I’m not against the fact that the investigation started in the first place, because everybody, literally everybody, if they’ve got a problem, they should go and talk to someone in production in this case.
‘So I think she did the right thing. Yeah, and I’m glad that the investigation is finished and we got results.’
At the end of the chat with Christine, Giovanni alluded to the fact that a return to Strictly was not completely off the cards.
He said: ‘I think at the moment I’m just having very focused on Dancing with the Stars Italy.
‘I’ve got a tour coming up in January, so will definitely come back in the UK from January to July, and then, who knows. Never say never.’