BBC bosses reportedly told the Italian version of Strictly Come Dancing that Giovanni Pernice was ‘not a danger to contestants’ before he was hired.
The Sicilian dancer quit British Strictly in May this year after a complaint to the BBC about his rehearsal room behaviour by celeb partner Amanda Abbington.
But he’s now moved over to the Italian series, Ballando con le Stelle, as their newest professional dancer.
While the investigation into Abbington’s claims technically remains ongoing, the BBC’s clearance of the star is the clearest indication yet that they’re set to clear Giovanni of any wrongdoing.
An insider told Daily Mail: “Of course he wanted to take part on Ballando. He loves dancing but there was a question mark hanging over his head regarding his conduct.
“The BBC decided that was absolutely unfair and made the decision to intervene and give him a clean bill of health.
“There is no way they would have done that if they had any worries about his behaviour.
“It tells you all you need to know, really.”
Giovanni has been sharing his delight at being part of Ballando con le Stelle online, and has been giving fans insights into his rehearsals with his celeb partner, Bianca Guacerro.
Bianca is an Italian singer, actress and TV presenter, and seems absolutely besotted with Giovanni with the pair sharing giggling videos nearly every day since being partnered up.
Technically, the probe into Gio’s behaviour - which Amanda claimed was ‘disastrously unworkable’ and ‘bullying’ – is still ongoing.
However it’s been reported that lawyers for both parties have seen the findings and disagree on what’s been discovered, delaying the results going public.
Both have hired top firms to argue their side of the complaint, with Giovanni continuing to deny any wrongdoing.
It's believed the investigation has amounted to over £500,000 to complete.
