Giovanni Pernice admitted he thought the Strictly Come Dancing harassment row would be the “end of his career” as he reflected on the “dark times” he faced.
The professional dancer, 34, was forced to leave the British show last year amid an investigation into his behaviour, after his famous ex-partner Amanda Abbington accused him of abuse.
Giovanni was cleared of ten of Amanda’s 16 allegations when the BBC investigation concluded in September, but remained absent for the current edition of the series.
The BBC report cleared him of the most serious allegations of physical assault, but confirmed some of bullying and verbal harassment.
Reflecting on the year, he said The mirror in a new interview: ‘I’m not going to lie, there were dark moments in terms of, you know, this is over, this is the end of my career. That was one of my bad moments.
‘Sorry for my language, but 2024 can go to hell. I really wanted to see the back.
Giovanni Pernice admitted he thought the Strictly Come Dancing bullying fight he was involved in would be the “end of his career”, as he reflected on the “dark times” he faced.
The professional dancer, 34, was forced to leave the show last year amid an investigation into his behaviour, after his famous ex-partner Amanda Abbington accused him of abuse.
Commenting on Amanda’s explosive claims, he continued: ‘Every time she came out with another interview, I always kept my inner calm. Believe me, it wasn’t easy, there were dark times.
Giovanni’s new comments come after he showed he hasn’t lost his competitive edge following his break from British television when he ditched strictly professional partner Kai Widdrinton in an effort to win Channel 4’s Celebrity Hunted.
Celebrity Hunted sees a group of stars, also known as the Fugitives, on the run across the UK mainland for 14 days as they are pursued by the Hunters, a hand-picked team of police and military.
Hunters have access to all personal information of celebrities and use the “powers of the state” to locate and capture them, including cyber forensics technology, ANPR, CCTV, helicopters, drones, dogs and call tracing.
They even use social media to bribe the public or capture contestants with monetary rewards in exchange for information about the whereabouts of celebrities.
Those who manage to evade capture for 14 days must reach a designated “extraction” point on the last day before winning £100,000 for Stand Up To Cancer.
The Strictly Professionals are among the six famous couples taking part in the thriller game show, but Giovanni was willing to throw Kai under the bus to win the show himself.
He said: “It’s exciting to be back on British television.” It’s been too long!’
‘It was very stressful. Kai and I are best friends, but I’m very competitive and he’s not on the same level when it comes to competitiveness.
Giovanni was cleared of ten of Amanda’s 16 allegations when the BBC investigation concluded in September, but remained absent for the current edition of the series.
In a new interview, he said: “I’m not going to lie, there were dark moments in terms of, you know, this is over, this is the end of my career.” That was one of my bad moments.
It comes after Giovanni proved he hasn’t lost his competitive edge following his break from British television when he ditched strictly professional partner Kai Widdrinton in an effort to win Celebrity Hunted.
‘In fact, you will see that we parted ways. I was thinking, “I want to win this,” but Kai was thinking about where we could stay and that would be nice.
“He said, ‘It’s cool here, it’s relaxed, it’s hot, let’s eat.’ And I said, ‘I don’t need to eat.’ I don’t want to be hot. “I want to escape from the hunters!”
Giovanni explained that Kai’s slower pace almost caused the Hunter to catch them several times.
He said: ‘There were a few occasions where we almost got caught. So I told him, “We have to split up because I really need to win this.”
Kai obeyed gracefully in hopes that the plan would double his chances of winning.
The couple turned to Celebrity Hunted alum and fellow Strictly Pro Katya Jones for help while attending the final season of the show with her Olympian best friend Aimee Fuller.
Remembering his advice, Kai said, “He basically said to be there all the time because you never know where the Hunters are.” They could be anywhere.
In addition to his appearance on Hunted, Giovanni also featured heavily in Strictly’s 20th anniversary special and was praised for his groundbreaking dance with fellow deaf Rose Ayling Ellis in 2021.
After a tumultuous few months, Giovanni ended 2024 on a high by winning the Italian version of Strictly Come Dancing and embarking on a new romance with his dance partner Bianca Guaccero.
Meanwhile, it has been revealed that Amanda turned down a big money offer to star in the upcoming CBB series over fears of being trolled online.
The couple surprised the audience when midway through their performance with the Clean Bandit Symphony the music stopped but the dancing continued.
The special performance was called the “best dance ever” on Strictly.
And after a tumultuous few months, Giovanni ended 2024 on a high by winning the Italian version of Strictly Come Dancing and embarking on a new romance with dance partner Bianca Guaccero.
The couple confirmed their romance in November, with Bianca at the time claiming she had “difficulty believing in true love” until she met him.
Bianca also stated that she had “never felt so safe and loved” as with the dancer, almost 10 years younger than her.
Meanwhile, it has been revealed that Amanda turned down a big money offer to star in the upcoming CBB series over fears of being trolled online.
A source said The sun on Sunday: ‘Amanda decided to quietly decline the offer because she felt so traumatized by the last reality competition she participated in.
‘She couldn’t stand going through all the trolling she received when she complained about Giovanni, which made her feel like public enemy number one.
“Of course, they would have thanked her for payment to participate, but she just couldn’t afford it.”
The source added that Amanda has nothing against CBB and is a fan of the show herself.
MailOnline has contacted Amanda’s representatives for comment.