Strictly bosses rush show couple from dance studio… because Giovanni Pernice was next door practising for stage show
STRICTLY bosses moved Pete Wicks and Jowita Przystal after finding out her ex — professional dancer Giovanni Pernice — was rehearsing next door, we can reveal today.
Pete, 36, and Jowita, 30, were training to prepare for last night’s Halloween special when it emerged the Italian professional was also working at the base in Oval, South London.
Giovanni, 34, who decided to quit the BBC hit in May following allegations about his tough training methods, was preparing for his tour — The Last Dance — which kicks off in January.
A source said the dance show’s chiefs decided it would be a better idea to separate them given Jowita’s history with Gio.
To add to the possible tension, reality star Pete had snogged another of Giovanni’s exes, Maura Higgins, 33, earlier in the week.
He was spotted smooching with Love Island star Maura at London’s Grosvenor House hotel on Monday night following the Pride of Britain Awards.
The source added: “Pete bumped into Giovanni outside the rehearsal room and he told Jowita he had seen Gio when he went back in.
“It was awkward for Pete but even more so for Jowita who dated Giovanni a couple of years ago.
“No one likes bumping into an ex.”
The source added: “The production team were notified that Giovanni was at the studio and bosses made the decision to move Pete and Jowita elsewhere.
“They were taken to a studio in North London for the rest of the day but luckily it didn’t cause too much disruption.”
Jowita, who danced a Viennese waltz with Pete last night to That’s Life by Frank Sinatra, split from long-term partner and fellow professional Michael Danilczuk in 2022.
The break-up happened before her rehearsals began that year with wildlife host Hamza Yassin, 34.
The pair went on to win the show.
Shortly after, The Sun revealed that Jowita was secretly dating Giovanni after the pair were caught kissing backstage at the Strictly studios in Elstree, Herts.
However, Gio and Polish dancer Jowita, who has been on Strictly since 2021, soon split, with pals claiming that their hectic work schedules got in the way of their relationship.
It comes as Pete was said to have fallen for Jowita — despite his snog with Maura.
He said of his professional other half: “Jowita is just . . . I could not have got a better partner.
“I can’t sit here and go ‘she’s my life’.
“We don’t know each other that well. But what I do know is that she makes me feel good.
“And that is really important and hopefully I make her feel good and that’s a really nice place to be, you know what I mean?”
Maura and Giovanni went public about their relationship in July 2021 with a loved-up Instagram post, captioned: “I’m yours.”
But things soon appeared to turn sour, with Italian Open Latin dance champion Giovanni ending their relationship just four months later, leaving Maura “blindsided”.
Their break-up came after heart-to-heart talks, during which the dancer admitted he was not “ready to settle down”.
‘BELITTLING’
Giovanni quit Strictly after nine years in May when he faced claims about his tough approach to training with his celebrity partners — including Sherlock actress Amanda Abbington, 50.
She left last year’s show in week six citing medical reasons, but later accused Giovanni of bullying.
The BBC’s five-month investigation, which was published last month, cleared Giovanni of ten of the 16 allegations made against him.
But it found instances of him using “belittling” language towards Amanda, and bosses at the BBC apologised to her.
A BBC spokeswoman said last night: “Pete and Jowita moved training rooms as they were filming a Halloween VT in a separate location in the morning.
“It is not unusual for contestants to change rehearsal rooms in the week, depending on personal and show commitments.”