Former Strictly star Giovanni: I'm strict but not a bully

Former Strictly Come Dancing nonrecreational Giovanni Pernice has said he's a "strict teacher" but not a bully, aft the extremity of a BBC probe into allegations astir his behaviour successful rehearsals.

Actress Amanda Abbington, his creation spouse past year, described his behaviour successful the grooming country arsenic "inappropriate, it was mean, it was nasty, it was bullying".

After an interior investigation, the BBC apologised to Abbington earlier this period aft upholding immoderate of her complaints against him, but clearing him of the astir superior allegations.

"Bully is simply a large connection and there's a quality betwixt being a bully and caring astir what you do," helium told ITV's Lorraine connected Tuesday.

When the BBC's study was published earlier this month, BBC News was told the reappraisal looked into 17 complaints and six were upheld.

A root said those upheld related to verbal bullying and harassment, but the astir superior allegations of carnal aggression were not upheld.

The study and details of which complaints were upheld person not been published.

Pernice said those that were upheld related to "verbal bullying", but during the interrogation helium besides claimed the probe "didn't find maine a bully, which is precisely wherefore I'm relieved now".

He told Lorraine's impermanent big Christine Lampard: "I'm gladsome that the 11 allegations person been thrown out.

"At the opening determination were precise superior allegations, for lawsuit threatening her oregon abusing her, and each of this has been taken out."

Discussing his grooming methods, helium said: "I'm a strict teacher. I said it myself. I attraction astir my job. I'm very, precise competitive. I've won the glitterball before. It doesn't mean that I person to triumph each time, but I volition marque definite that I volition bash everything to get the champion retired of you."

Pernice won the amusement with Rose Ayling-Ellis successful 2021, and came 2nd 3 times successful the different 7 years earlier being partnered with Abbington.

Dancing is "a hard discipline", helium said, but helium insisted helium wouldn't alteration his methods due to the fact that "teaching the mode I thatch is the palmy mode to attack this".

Pernice admitted getting frustrated successful rehearsals, but said that was communal for anyone connected the show.

"I get frustrated, the personage gets frustrated, and spot maine erstwhile I accidental each azygous idiosyncratic connected Strictly Come Dancing and Dancing With The Stars successful the satellite would get frustrated due to the fact that you consciousness the pressure.

"You consciousness the unit that you privation to execute perfectly connected the Saturday night.

"So frustration, I think, is thing that erstwhile you privation to beryllium good, it happens. And I bash attraction astir my job."

He described Abbington arsenic "brilliant" and "unbelievable astatine dancing", and said she didn't sermon her complaints with him astatine the time.

"All I had was, 'Giovanni you're an astonishing teacher', 'Giovanni you're great'."

He added: "We ne'er had an argument. We ever had discussions astir steps."

Abbington's relationship of their clip unneurotic differs significantly.

Following the decision of the BBC's report, she told the BBC's Newsnight it had been "an ongoing litany of being verbally abused".

"There was a 35-minute rant astatine maine with him throwing his hands up successful the aerial and calling maine names and telling maine each sorts of things that I was and however helium couldn't truly header with it immoderate more," she said.

"And this went connected for, you know, 7 hours a day, for 7 weeks."

On Lorraine, Pernice responded that "there is truthful overmuch that is not existent successful these things" and "I ne'er called her names successful that room".

In a abstracted interrogation with the Daily Mail, Pernice admitted the brace shared "very rude banter" and that producers were acrophobic by immoderate of the names they were calling each other. But helium claimed she told them: "It's perfectly fine, I started it."

He said helium had not spoken until present due to the fact that the BBC had asked some sides not to until the probe was over.

He was angered, however, by an interrogation Abbington gave to Channel 4 News successful July, helium told the Mail.

During that interview, big Krishnan Guru-Murthy - who besides took portion successful past year's bid - suggested she had been subjected to "humiliating behaviour of a intersexual nature".

She tearfully agreed that was the case, but said it was not intersexual harassment, and that it was "one of the galore things" that happened.

In the Mail, Pernice said: "My Sicilian humor would emergence up and I'd think, this isn't the information - but I had to stay silent.

"It was the archetypal clip determination was speech of thing sexual. Of course, I was disquieted it could destruct my vocation - the radical that travel to my shows are kids and women.

"I was painted arsenic a idiosyncratic I americium not. It seemed similar the lone constituent was to destruct me."