Shirley Ballas breaks silence on Giovanni Pernice’s ‘return to Strictly’ – as she reveals ‘big changes’ for BBC show
STRICTLY judge Shirley Ballas has revealed her thoughts on whether pro dancer Giovanni Pernice should return to the BBC show.
Giovanni, 34, last appeared on the BBC celebrity ballroom dancing competition in 2023 with celebrity partner Amanda Abbington.
Amanda, 51, soon quit the show accusing Gio of bullying and a string of complaints, some of which were upheld.
The Italian dancer was suspended while the investigation took place – costing a reported £250k – and eventually left the show completely to join the Italian version Ballando con le Stelle.
Since then Giovanni won the Italian version of Strictly and found love with his celebrity partner, Italian star Bianca Guaccero.
Shirley, 64, previously stood by the Italian dancer and said he has always been a “perfect gentleman”.
The head judge has now insisted that the BBC will do the right thing when it comes to picking professionals for the new series.
When asked if Giovanni will be returning to the TV show later this year, Shirley said: “I think the BBC will go out there and pick the best people for the job that they feel are appropriate at the time.”
Shirley also revealed that the new series is set to be bigger and better – with some big changes.
“You’ll have to wait and see, I would absolutely love to be back,” she told us at Nikita Kuzmin‘s Midnight Dancer tour in London.
“I stay in my line, I just do the judging.
“I’m sure the BBC will do all the things they need to make the show just as exciting every year.
But you’ll see a few changes.”
She added: “I’d like to see a member of the public there, that would be amazing. Like a non-celebrity version. So they can feel how they feel they think they would.”
Shirley was the first of the Strictly panel to speak in support of Gio.
She said: “I just spoke to Giovanni 30 minutes before coming here and I am going to one of his ballando classes to teach the jive.
“He is coming to my party on Sunday.
“You know, I can only talk from my own perspective.
“I have known Giovanni for ten years.
“He has always been to me, — and I will make that clear, to me — a perfect gentleman.
“I know he is a hard worker.
“He wants people to do the very best that they can do.
“Obviously, in my life, I was bullied a lot.
“I don’t condone bullying on any path.
“But I don’t believe gossip because things are blown way out of all proportion and it can turn into a great big snowball.
“So my feeling for Giovanni is, let them do this investigation and the truth will come out.
“So we don’t judge anybody until I know absolutely, 100 percent.”
Shirley went on: “I have never ever, ever, ever experienced any ill will, bad feeling or bad sportsmanship or rudeness from him.
“My mother loves him.
“It does not matter when he is on tour, or where he is or what he is doing, he will make his way across and he will say ‘Lovely to see you Shirley.
“Lovely to see your mum.’”
Strictly's full scandal so far
Strictly Come Dancing's scandal engulfed the show over the past few months, with several major players speaking out about what went on before the BBC came back with their findings. Here are the key moments of what's happened so far
16th May: Giovanni Pernice sensationally quits Strictly Come Dancing after nine years on the show.
17th May: Giovanni becomes the centre of an official investigation after three former partners – believed to be Amanda Abbington, Laura Whitmore and Ranvir Singh – make complaints to the BBC.
16th June: Giovanni releases an official statement vowing to clear his name and denies any wrongdoing.
8th July: Strictly confirms Aljaz Skorjanec will return to the series, replacing Giovanni, after initially quitting the show two years ago.
10th July: Amanda Abbington launches fresh legal proceedings to get the rehearsal footage from her time with Giovanni, after allegedly he refused to release the videos.
13th July: Graziano Di Prima is axed from Strictly for “gross misconduct” after footage of his treatment of Zara McDermott is brought to the attention of the BBC.
Graziano quickly broke his silence, apologising for his behaviour in a statement and saying he “deeply regrets it”, adding his “intense passion and determination to win might have affected his training regime.”
15th July: Strictly bosses implement new duty of care protocols, including having a chaperone present throughout all rehearsals.
16th July: Zara McDermott speaks out publicly for first time. She states while the production team were “amazing to work with”, she found the rehearsal room “completely different”, confirming there’s footage of “certain situations”.
19th July: Anton Du Beke is put under the spotlight for his “1970s attitude” and treatment of female celeb stars, particularly after allegedly referring to 2009 partner Laila Rouass as a “p***” after getting a spray tan.
21st July: Paralympian Will Bayley, who has limb condition arthrogryposis, revealed he was encouraged to leap from a table during a dance routine, despite fears. The stunt caused an injury that forced him to withdraw from the show.
22nd July: MasterChef’s Gregg Wallace admits he broke down in tears and got a nasty stress rash on his face during his time on Strictly in 2014.
22nd July: Despite ongoing issues, the Strictly professional cast begin rehearsals for this year’s series.
23rd July: Celebrity agent Melanie Blake claims she was sexually assaulted by an unnamed pro dancer while backstage on the show, and claims she witnessed ageism, rudeness and a rough treatment to the point of injury.
23rd July: Strictly is forced to beef up security after ‘an intruder scales the wall of the rehearsal studio’.
23rd July: BBC boss Tim Davie breaks his silence on the ongoing allegations against Strictly, saying he is ‘deeply sorry’, adding: “Hundreds of people, be they pros, contestants or crew have been part of it and had a brilliant experience.
“At the same time if someone thinks there was something wrong or they want to talk about their experience then of course we want them to raise that with us. Be in no doubt we will take it seriously, listen and deal with it as appropriate.”
24th July: Strictly 2023 star Krishnan Guru-Murthy holds a bombshell interview with Amanda Abbington on Channel 4 news, where she claims she was bullied, with some of the ‘humilation being of a sexual nature’.
27th July: Laura Whitmore releases a statement regarding her Strictly experience, saying “I thought my experience was specific to me but I’ve since learned I was wrong”.
She adds she is not part of the official complaint, but has come forward to support Amanda with the BBC, alongside others.
28th July: Laila Rouass speaks out against the accusations regarding Anton Du Beke, saying she “never felt pressured” by him and “personally insisted on six to seven hours training a day”.
10th August: Graziano breaks his silence on his Strictly axe, saying “these vile, false allegations have ruined my life.”
He also told of the “shocking” end to his friendship with Zara McDermott.
We also revealed that Amanda Abbington was also quizzed for a second time as Strictly execs recruited 15 new staff to monitor rehearsals.
11th August: Just as the investigation was expected to conclude, Amanda made a dramatic intervention. Giovanni was on the brink of being cleared until Amanda handed in more text messages.
24th August: Graziano Di Prima called in top lawyers to sue the BBC and to try to clear his name. He recruited big hitters Whitestone Chambers to fight his corner.
A source said: “They’ve also looked at his BBC contract and believe there are grounds to sue.”
Meanwhile, the BBC also delayed releasing the findings of the probe into Giovanni Pernice. The Sun revealed that the results of the three-month investigation were unlikely to be announced in August.
13th September: Strictly wins best talent show at the National Television Awards
14th September: Strictly Come Dancing returned to TV – without Giovanni AND without the findings of the investigation revealed.
30th September: The BBC apologises to Amanda over the Strictly bullying scandal – but Giovanni is cleared of almost all abuse allegations.
Amanda released a statement saying she’s not happy with the outcome, while Gio shared his delight.
22nd October: Giovanni returns to TV in the UK for an interview on Lorraine and speaks about clearing his name.