GIOVANNI Pernice looked to be living the high life as he poured glasses of champagne on board a private jet to Italy.
The luxurious jaunt comes amid reports the ongoing Strictly Comes Dancing probe into his conduct on the show has cost him £350,000 in missed TV opportunities.
The outcome of the investigation, which has been rumbling on for four months, has been delayed.
As a result, other TV shows have been reluctant to offer the Italian dancer big money deals in case he's found guilty.
The Mail reports that Italian dancing show Ballando con le Stelle has pulled their £100k offer amid the uncertainty, while a rumoured £250k deal to join I'm A Celebrity looks unlikely too.
A source said: "Gio was so excited that he was going to keep on dancing and what made it so much more lovely is that it would have been in his home country.
"But the deadline was looming and the Ballando bosses just couldn’t wait any longer for the BBC to announce their verdict. They are as gutted as Gio is.
"He has so many offers on the table but without the BBC clearing his name he can’t move forward. Nobody can understand why this is taking so long."
The investigation findings were due to be revealed earlier this month but the date clashed with disgraced Huw Edwards' court case over child abuse images.
Sherlock star Amanda Abbington, 50, quit last year's series of Strictly just five weeks in.
She then launched a complaint against her dance partner Giovanni, accusing him of being “abusive, cruel and mean”.
The dancer, 33, who quit the BBC show after nine years in May, has denied any wrongdoing.
It is believed six people were spoken to during the probe, including Laura Whitmore, Giovanni’s dance partner in 2016.
BBC boss Charlotte Moore has candidly addressed the recent claims.
Speaking at the Edinburgh TV festival, she said: "Let's just put it in perspective - this is a show that has given so much joy to the nation, to people taking part in it, frankly as well as audiences, so it's a really important show for us.
"I want to make sure that it's a positive experience for everyone that takes part, from the crew, to the make up artist, to the celebrities, to the dancers.
"It needs to be a positive experience."
