He had hoped to light up the Strictly ballroom in Italy after quitting the BBC dance show amid complaints from his partner Amanda Abbington.
But The Mail on Sunday can reveal that Giovanni Pernice has been told by the Italian show’s bosses they can’t sign him up for this year’s series because he has yet to be exonerated by investigators four months after they launched their inquiry.
Mr Pernice, 33, had been in talks with chiefs of Ballando con le Stelle for several months and they were thrilled at the prospect of him joining as one of their professional dancers.
But they are devastated at having to pull the offer – worth around £100,000 to the Italian dancer – because the BBC are yet to clear him after the internal inquiry into Ms Abbington’s claims he bullied her during rehearsals.
It can be revealed Mr Pernice is also now unlikely to appear on ITV’s reality show I’m A Celebrity in a deal which could have earned him around £250,000.
Giovanni Pernice had hoped to light up the Strictly ballroom in Italy after quitting the BBC dance show amid complaints from his partner Amanda Abbington (pictured in March)
The Mail on Sunday can reveal that the dancer has been told by the Italian show’s bosses they can’t sign him up for this year’s series because he has yet to be exonerated by investigators
The channel had hoped to make the most of his popularity with BBC viewers.
It is likely Mr Pernice will launch legal action against the Corporation, where he could cite a failure in their duty of care because they carry out no psychological tests on contestants. He is ‘absolutely furious’ the BBC have made him wait so long.
A source told The Mail on Sunday: ‘Gio was so excited that he was going to keep on dancing and what made it so much more lovely is that it would have been in his home country.
‘But the deadline was looming and the Ballando bosses just couldn’t wait any longer for the BBC to announce their verdict. They are as gutted as Gio is.
‘It is absolutely horrendous for Gio. He has been stuck in limbo and has been unable to move on with his life.
‘He has so many offers on the table but without the BBC clearing his name he can’t move forward. Nobody can understand why this is taking so long.
‘He is losing money hand over fist. He was presented with Amanda’s claims weeks and weeks ago, there was nothing there that proved he was a bully, as he has been insisting all along.
‘He has a clear case against the BBC here. They put him in a room with a woman without doing the most basic of checks which ultimately put him in a position where his career is potentially ruined and his income stream is cut off’.
But they are devastated at having to pull the offer because the BBC are yet to clear him after the internal inquiry into Ms Abbington’s claims he bullied her during rehearsals (Giovanni and Amanda Abington pictured in October 2023)
They added: ‘Gio had to leave Strictly because of Amanda’s claims and now it has ruined his chance to move on.’
Ballando con le Stelle launched in 2005 – a year after Strictly began in the UK – and is filmed in a magnificent 19th century theatre at the RAI Auditorium at the Foro Italico in Rome.
Mr Pernice hired legal firm Schillings in April after Ms Abbington made a formal complaint to the BBC.
One source said: ‘He certainly has the infrastructure in place to sue should he decide to take that route, which right now is a huge possibility.’
