Strictly Come Dancing’s Giovanni Pernice, 33, has been hit by a fresh crisis – around emotional issues – after three of his former celebrity partners reportedly met to discuss their difficult trauma experiences working with him.
The Emotional Summit
Sources said ex-Strictly trio Amanda Abbington, 52, Ranvir Singh, 46, and Laura Whitmore, 38, had an ’emotional summit’ where they ‘compared experiences’ about their time working with the Italian dancer on the BBC show.
Why Amanda Quit Strictly Come Dancing
Amanda quit Strictly back in October citing medical reasons and has since revealed that she has been diagnosed with mild post-traumatic stress disorder amid claims of a feud between her and Giovanni before reports she had demanded footage of their rehearsals after the experience in the competition left her with PTSD, DailyMail reports.
Speaking on The Mirror’s Invite Only podcast, Giovanni called Amanda’s decision to quit ‘a shame’, adding: ‘Amanda could have gone all the way.’
What Ranvir Said About Giovanni
The Good Morning Britain presenter Ranvir complained about Giovanni to producers back in 2020, during their time on the show, while Laura said she ‘cried every day’ and felt ‘uncomfortable’ while training/dancing with him in 2016.
Sources claimed that while ‘tears were shed,’ the trio also discussed the prospect of ‘formally’ complaining to the BBC about Giovanni’s behaviour.
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An insider told The Sun: ‘There is every possibility all three could take it further and formally complain to the BBC, but for now they’re comforting each other.’
‘Only a handful of people will understand what it’s like to be trained by Giovanni and in the industry he is regarded as a ‘perfectionist’.
They added: ‘There is some shock that the BBC appears to be doing nothing. Like Amanda, Ranvir also flagged an issue during training with Giovanni and said she was unhappy.’
However, a source close to Giovanni told the publication: ‘Gio finds some of these allegations deeply unfair and offensive. He believes he’s done nothing wrong, and simply wants to get the best out of his partners.’
The BBC said earlier this year that they would not be investigating Giovanni’s behaviour with Amanda, with a spokesperson saying: ‘There is a constant dialogue between the senior production team and contestants to ensure any concerns are addressed swiftly.’
