GRAZIANO Di Prima has returned to Instagram for the first time since being sacked from Strictly Come Dancing.
The Italian dancer shared a rare post - and showed his appreciation to a young Strictly fan as the show returned for its 20th series without him.
Graziano was sacked earlier this year following allegations of physical and verbal behaviour.
He moved back to Italy from the UK and has stayed off social media.
However, last night he felt compelled to break his silence and shared a video from a young Strictly fan who has supported him since his early days on the show.
Katie, a little girl from Durham, had set up a fan account with her mum and she sent the dancer a message over the weekend.
Katie spoke in a video and wore an Italian football shirt.
She said: "Let's face it, there's only one shirt I'm going to wear today!"
She proudly turned around to reveal 'Di Prima' written on the back of it.
The mum tagged Graziano in the video and he reshared it on social media on Sunday morning.
The Sun revealed the Italian dancer, 30, had been hit with claims around his former dance partner Zara McDermott.
At the time Graz too spoke out saying he had "deep regrets".
The dancer wrote: "I deeply regret the events that led to my departure from Strictly. My intense passion and determination to win might have affected my training regime.
"Respecting the BBC HR process, I understand it's best for the show that I step away."
He moved back to Italy with his wife Giada Lini and he was spotted picking fruit in his old job over the summer.
It is understood the BBC is close to sharing the results of its investigation into Giovanni Pernice, whose training methods with his celeb partners also sparked accusations of gross misconduct.
Issues around Strictly's training first came to light when Amanda Abbington revealed her diagnosis of PTSD from working with Gio.
She demanded CCTV from rehearsals to prove that Giovanni's training methods weren't acceptable.
The BBC issued a statement defending its duty of care to contestants, insisting it takes any claims of wrongdoing very seriously.
But they later announced they were conducting a thorough investigation after three complainants instructed lawyers.
The row has threatened to overshadow the 20th anniversary series of the hit BBC1 dance competition, which returned on Saturday night.
