Anton Du Beke says he ‘wants’ Giovanni Pernice back on the BBC competition (Image: giovannipernice/Instagram)Get daily celeb exclusives and behind the scenes house tours direct to your inboxMore Newsletters SubscribePlease enter a valid emailSomething went wrong, please try again later.More NewslettersWe use your sign-up to provide content in ways you’ve consented to and improve our understanding of you. This may include adverts from us and third parties based on our knowledge of you. More infoThank you for subscribing!We have more newslettersShow me See OurPrivacy Notice See OurPrivacy Notice×Group 28 Get daily celeb exclusives and behind the scenes house tours direct to your inboxInvalid emailSomething went wrong, please try again later.Sign UpNo thanks, closeWe use your sign-up to provide content in ways you’ve consented to and improve our understanding of you. This may include adverts from us and third parties based on our knowledge of you. More info×Group 28Thank you for subscribing!We have more newslettersShow MeNo thanks, closeSee our
Privacy NoticeStrictly Come Dancing’s Anton du Beke breaks his silence on Giovanni Pernice’s sudden exit and says, “I’d like to see him back of course.” This comes after Giovanni strongly denied claims of “bullying” and “abusive” behaviour made by Amanda Abbington earlier this year regarding their time in the Strictly training room last year. Anton, who is now one of the judges on Strictly, and Giovanni, who are close friends, have previously collaborated on a BBC travel series and hit the road this year for a joint tour, reports the Mirror .
Anton has revealed he’d like to see his close friend back on Strictly Come Dancing
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Amidst continuous speculation, Giovanni, Strictly’s longest-standing pro dancer, has been embroiled in controversy following accusations of bullying from his former dance partner Amanda. Following these events, he took up a new role on Italy’s Ballando con le stelle, departing the UK’s beloved dance competition. Addressing the scandal surrounding Giovanni, Anton told The Sun: “It’s one of those situations where I sort of feel like I’m on the outside looking in, because it’s about stuff which I’m not involved in, any more. You never want any bad press, if you like, or anybody to say anything negative about the thing that you love.” He carried on to say that he was pleased fellow dancer Aljaz Skorjanec would be back on the show and that he was looking forward to moving “forward”.
Former star Aljaz will return after years away from the show
(Image: PA)
Sign up to OK!’s TV newsletter to get updates sent to your inbox for free Anton continued to say it was like he was “waiting” to get through “this part” and continue with the “new show”. He also added that he’d be “disappointed” if any of this year’s celebs didn’t “have a good time”. Giovanni isn’t the only pro-dancer not returning to the series, Fellow pro dancer Graziano Di Prima was axed over allegations of physical and verbal behaviour towards his former dance partner Zara McDermott. The BBC released a statement saying: “We can confirm that Graziano Di Prima is no longer a part of the line-up of professional dancers for the upcoming series of Strictly Come Dancing. “While we would never comment on individual cases, it is well-known that the BBC has established and robust duty of care procedures, and if issues are raised we will always take them seriously and act swiftly as appropriate.”
Graziano has been let go from the series by the BBC
(Image: BBC)
The Strictly launch show kicks off tonight (Saturday 14 September) with the celebs being matched up with their celebrity partners. The likes of Pete Wicks, Tasha Ghouri, Wynne Evans, Nick Knowles and Jamie Borthwick have already cracked on with training, but their partners will be revealed during tonight’s show.Story SavedYou can find this story in My Bookmarks.Or by navigating to the user icon in the top right.Follow OK! MagazineFacebookTwitterCommentMore OnGiovanni PerniceNick KnowlesPete WicksZara McdermottAljaz SkorjanecAnton Du BekeStrictly Come Dancing
