10 January 2024 , 21:17
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Giovanni Pernice has made a return to social media and the BBC - after the corporation backed him over an apparent dispute with ex-Striclty Come Dancing partner Amanda Abbington.
The 33-year-old dance star was a guest on The Traitors: Uncloacked companion show - a spin-off of the highly successful reality series The Traitors. On Wednesday, the latest episode of the Traitors aired and Gio joined comedians Ed Gamble and Joel Dommett to review the latest twists and turns of the show.
The official BBC Sounds Instagram page shared a short clip of Ed introducing the latest episode of The Traitors: Uncloacked - and explaining that Giovanni would be on the show. The Italian dance star could be seen smiling in the background and declaring “Hello!” Before then adding “Chao for now. Bye,” as the cameras moved away from him.
Giovanni shared the clip via his own Instagram Stories, encouraging fans to tune in via BBC iPlayer and via BBC Sounds to hear what he had to say about the show. And minutes later, the star shared a message about keeping ‘positive’ - amid ongoing drama surrounding him, Strictly and 51-year-old Amanda.
Giovanni Pernice has returned to social media - and BBC TV (WireImage)
Giovanni was a guest on a spin-off show of The Traitors (Instagram)Gio shared a promotional image of his debut fragrance, which is called VITA - the Italian word for Life - showing him cavorting in a swimming pool with a female model. He wrote alongside the sizzling image: “My aim in launching VITA was to create products to inspire and bring joy to life, and to explore another creative outlet for my passions.
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“My fragrance VITA (Italian for life) is just that, a celebration of life. Of positivity when there is obviously so much around us which can be a cause for the opposite. We are starting this journey with high hopes and ambitions, and with many more products in the pipeline.
“I hope you enjoy VITA as much as I loved creating it, as this image from our launch photoshoot shows! Our New Year sale is also now on, so grab yourself a bargain today at gpvita.com. Giovanni.”
The star highlighted his new fragrance alongside a message of positivity (Instagram)Giovanni’s social media posts come days after Amanda launched an extraordinary request at the BBC - demanding the hand over all footage of her and Giovanni in rehearsals together. Fans of Strictly will recall that Amanda withdrew from the contest last year after five weeks citing health and personal reasons.
Rumours had swirled that she and Giovanni had clashed behind-the-scenes of the show due to his strict approach to training for the glitzy dance competition. And last weekend it was suggested Amanda is mulling over legal advice after suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) due to her time on the show.
The BBC had backed Giovanni, with a source telling The Sun: "Some of the professionals and crew feel it needs to be dealt with and Giovanni shouldn’t come back this year. The BBC are standing behind Giovanni and won’t be pursuing an investigation. It’s a shock to some on the show who think something needs to be done about his behaviour… The feeling is he is a tough taskmaster, but hasn’t bullied or abused anyone. The BBC see him as a key face of Strictly and will do all they can to support him."