Strictly Come Dancing pro Giovanni Pernice has faced a beatdown on his reputation after his former partner Amanda Abbington continued her feud.
The Sherlock star pulled out of the competition during week five last year and first claimed it was for personal reasons – with it later being revealed she was suffering from stress due to Pernice’s strict rehearsals.
Rumours of a clash between Pernice and Abbington began to swirl which escalated in the months following after she supposedly sought legal help with the issue.
She later demanded the footage from her rehearsals with the Italian dancer following claims she left the series with PTSD.
Now, BBC bosses have started to consider whether it would be right to give Pernice another celebrity partner this year.
A source told The Sun: “Bosses are undecided about whether or not they will give Gio a partner, just to take the heat off him.
Amanda claimed she suffered PTSD from her sessions with Giovanni
BBC
“He’s still very much loved by all the head honchos. But the big cheeses are wondering if it might be tough to find him a partner.
“Given the reports about his harsh teaching style and the fact anyone who’s paired with him next will have to answer questions about his behaviour.
“The spotlight will be on them from day one, which is a lot to take as well as the pressure of the show. Unless they can find someone who specifically asks for him, it could be tricky.”
It comes after two more of Pernice’s former partners – Laura Whitmore and Ranvir Singh – came out and spoke about their experiences with the 33-year-old, siding with Abbington.
Giovanni may not get paired up with a celebrity this year
BBC
Whitmore previously said she “cried every day” and felt “uncomfortable” whilst training with Pernice when they were paired up in 2016.
Singh also flagged an issue with the star during one of her training sessions with him and said that she was unhappy.
Pernice has defended these claims and said last week: “I am a perfectionist, 100 percent, but it comes from a perspective of caring. I think all of the professional dancers are in the same place.”
A TV insider told the Daily Mail: “It's one thing saying they are standing by him, but they feel as if Giovanni is being promoted and pushed center stage in a bid to make them go away and keep quiet. It's a kick in the teeth.
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Giovanni may not be paired up this year
BBC
“One of the reasons they wanted to meet up was to try and work on a way forward because they have no intention of just backing down and letting this just fade away.”
GB News has contacted the BBC for a comment.