BBC ‘green-lights Giovanni Pernice’ to dance on Italy’s Strictly

The BBC has given the “complete green light” for Giovanni Pernice to take part in the Italian version of Strictly Come Dancing, Ballando con le Stelle, according to its host.

Milly Carlucci suggested the broadcaster’s approval of Pernice’s inclusion in the show “should tell us something” about the nature of the bullying allegations against the dancer.

Her comments came as the BBC continued an investigation into bullying claims made by Amanda Abbington, a contestant on last year’s Strictly, against Pernice.

The Sicilian professional dancer, 34, left the show this summer but strenuously denied the allegations and was said to be confident that his name would be cleared.

Speaking at a press conference ahead of Saturday’s launch show, Ms Carlucci said: “We were in very close contact with the BBC to understand the extent of these [accusations].

“It should tell you something that nine months later they still haven’t given an answer. If there had been proof, as it were, the perpetrator of the Agatha Christie-style crime would have come out by now. It hasn’t come out.”

She went on: “I don’t want to get into their affairs … but we have been monitoring the matter with the BBC and they have given us a complete green light in having Giovanni with us and that should also tell us something because the BBC seems to me to be a very serious company that wouldn’t have said to one of its partners: ‘Go ahead, it’s no problem’.”

In interviews earlier this year, Abbington alleged that his behaviour towards her during rehearsals was “unnecessary, abusive, cruel and mean”.

The Sherlock actress also claimed that she had suffered “humiliating behaviour of a sexual nature”, although she clarified that she was not claiming to have been a victim of sexual harassment.

Pernice has called the accusations “simply false” and said he rejects “any suggestion of abusive or threatening behaviour”.

He added: “I am looking forward to the conclusion of the investigation and ultimately clearing my name and establishing the truth.”

From this Saturday, Italians will be able to see Pernice perform on Ballando con le Stelle with his dance partner, the actress and TV host Bianca Guaccero.

Speaking about him during Thursday’s press conference in Rome, she said: “Giovanni is teaching me to let myself go, to trust myself… It’s been a very profound experience.”

Asked if it was difficult to establish trust between them, she added: “Look, it was all very natural, very nice, a lot of fun. I had a lot of fun with Giovanni. We are really two jesters, we have fun.”

Pernice said he would “rather not talk about” the ongoing investigation into Abbington’s allegations when asked on Thursday.

The professional dancer simply insisted: “It’s a commitment. I love dancing. It’s my passion. I’m a teacher, I’m a dancer.”

He also said that he does not want to compare the cultures of Strictly and its Italian version, saying: “I think they are very, very different…I don’t want to compare…They’re both great.”

Asked if he thought his appearance on the Italian show would be some kind of vindication for what he had gone through in the UK, Pernice declined to comment, but he said he was grateful for the loyalty and support of his many British fans.

Luca Alcini, the director of Ballando con le Stelle, also defended Pernice, saying that the intensity of the show often tested everyone’s temperament but that Pernice had been great to work with.

“He is a professional,” he told The Telegraph. “Like everyone else, in order to reach a goal, he puts energy and effort into it.

“It may happen sometimes, and it happens to me too, during a live broadcast, the adrenalin leads you to do, or say things that normally you would not do or say, but the important thing, in my opinion, is the objective, the achievement of the objective.

“Of course, you must not overstep certain limits, but I don’t think Giovanni, as far as I know him, has overstepped them.”

Ms Carlucci said she had known Pernice for many years and insisted the BBC had approved his involvement in the Italian programme which is aired by the state broadcaster RAI on Saturday nights.

The Telegraph understands that all casting decisions for Ballando con le Stelle are a matter for the Italian programme, rather than the BBC.

Among the current celebrity line-up on the Italian show are Federica Pellegrini, the former Italian Olympic swimmer, and Alan Friedman, the 68-year-old American financial journalist and author.

Ms Carlucci said the BBC had a different rehearsal process to the Italian programme and suggested this had made it difficult to verify claims against Pernice.

“One difficulty the BBC has encountered in responding to these claims is that unfortunately, they don’t do what we do, we have rehearsal rooms where they prepare and we have cameras watching what happens all day,” she said.

“The BBC can’t do it because they often train without cameras. Every now and then the camera comes and takes a shot and does an interview, but it was all very choppy.”

Graziano Di Prima, another Strictly professional, also left the show this year following allegations about his behaviour towards partner Zara McDermott. He admitted to kicking her in “an isolated incident” which he “deeply regrets and apologised for at the time”.

The BBC has introduced new duty-of-care measures in response to the allegations against the dancers, including chaperones who are present in the rehearsal rooms for its ongoing 20th anniversary series.

The broadcaster has been contacted by The Telegraph for comment.