Giovanni Pernice has signed up for a new TV show – Ballando con le Stelle – the Italian version of Strictly Come Dancing.
The Italian dancer left the UK original, hosted on the BBC, earlier this year, but the results of an investigation into claims made against him by Amanda Abbington are yet to be published.
The Sherlock actress claimed that Giovanni exhibited ‘bullying’ behaviour during their 2023 partnership, but he has strenuously denied all allegations and said he looks forward to clearing his name.
The new job opportunity has ‘delighted’ Giovanni, 34, who will now be spending more time in his native country.
He took to Instagram to share his news, and thanked his fans for their ‘continued support’.
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‘I’m delighted to announce that from next week I will be joining the cast of @ballandoconlestelle – the Italian Dancing with the Stars. I can’t wait to get started and to get back to dancing for all of you! Thank you for all of your continued support!’ he wrote alongside a video.
In the clip, he said he’d spent a couple of weeks with his family in Portofino, and now was ready to get to work.
‘Hopefully, I will create some new magic on the dance floor,’ he said with a smile.
‘I’m very excited. I’m very very happy about it. Now I have to do the same thing again as there’s an Italian audience now.’
He then said similar again in his first language.
Former partner Michelle Visage quickly congratulated him, writing: ‘Go win and DON’T VOGUE’. The pair were voted off from their series after performing a Couple’s Choice routine to the Madonna hit.
‘Buona fortuna Bello! Xxxx’ wrote Hannah Waddingham, which translates to good luck.
He resides in West London, but a source said ‘the change of scenery will do him the world of good.’
‘Gio is thrilled, he has been hoping that it would happen, he had everything crossed,’ they told the Daily Mail.
‘He is so excited that he can keep on dancing and what makes it all the more lovely is that it will be in his home country.
‘The deadline has been looming and the BBC has been on pause with its result but the Ballando bosses love him, they adore him, and they have now signed him.’
The publication reports that show bosses were waiting to sign him until the results of the investigation were published, which was ‘absolutely horrendous’ for Giovanni, who felt ‘in limbo’. However, their change of heart has left Giovanni ecstatic.
On his birthday earlier this week, the star teased that he would be sharing some news with his followers.
‘Thank you so much to all of you for the messages…I do appreciate your love and your endless support! Better days to come and exciting news to share with you very soon ☺️ love you all Gio,’ he wrote.
Ballando con le Stelle, which translates to Dancing with the Stars, launched in 2005 – one year after Strictly Come Dancing.
The series is filmed in a theatre at the RAI Auditorium at the Foro Italico in Rome, and features Giada Lini as one of the professional dancers, who is the wife of former Strictly professional Graziano di Prima.
Graziano, 30, left Strictly after it was claimed he ‘kicked and hit’ celebrity partner Zara McDermott, 27, during rehearsals while they were training for the 2023 season.
However, he claimed his foot ‘brushed’ McDermott after he ‘kicked the floor in frustration’ due to the ‘pressure of the show.’
Giovanni joined Strictly in 2014, and so was the series’ longest-serving male dancer until it was confirmed he wouldn’t be back in June.
His partners included winner Rose Ayling-Ellis, Georgia May Foote and Laura Whitmore. He was most recently partnered with Amanda, who left the show after a few weeks without explanation.
She later described Pernice as ‘nasty’ and claimed that he exhibited ‘bullying’ behaviour.
The BBC began an investigation into Giovanni which was expected to conclude last month. However, the results are yet to be published.
Metro.co.uk has contacted Giovanni Pernice’s representatives for comment.
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