Giovanni Pernice clashes with This Morning presenters live on air: 'I'm not here to justify myself'

The Italian dancer spent 10 years on Strictly until 2024, when a BBC investigation was launched into his behaviour following allegations of bullying, abuse and physical violence from Sherlock star Amanda Abbington.

Six of the 17 allegations (although none of the most serious claims, including of physical allegations) were upheld against Pernice, with his 2023 partner being paid a five-figure sum by the BBC as part of an out-of-court settlement last month.

Pernice, 35, is now releasing his memoir Gio: Taking The Lead, but appeared to grow frustrated with This Morning presenter Doyle while discussing the scandal in an exclusive interview on Tuesday.

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Speaking to Doyle and his co-host Christine Lampard, Pernice explained that he'd waited until the BBC's investigation was finished to tell his “side of the story”.

Bringing it back to Abbington, Doyle pointed out that while many of her allegations against Pernice were dropped, allegations of “verbal bullying” were upheld.

In response, Pernice said that while he couldn't repeat one of the words he used on morning TV, it was a word that “every day, all of us we use”.

“Again, it is the tone set in the room. If you use that tone to me, I use the same tone to you,” he said.

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“I appreciate it was a difficult time for you personally. It was also a difficult time for Amanda,” Doyle said, to which Pernice added: “Absolutely.”

Doyle continued: “She wouldn't have gone through the whole process had she not felt there was something in it,” while referencing Abbington's ”pay-out” from the BBC and her allegations that Pernice was ”underplaying things”.

“Everybody sees it differently, isn't it?” Pernice bluntly responded. ”I'm just talking factual. The investigation – this is what was upheld, this was what was not upheld. We both know what is the truth.”

“The complaints that were upheld, do you see what you did wrong there? Is there a reflection there from you where you could have done things differently?” Doyle pushed, with Pernice reiterating that he'd used ”one specific word”.

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“But other than that, I'm not here to justify myself,” the dancer said. “My life [has] moved on, I'm happy now. I went to Italy, I won the same show, different country. So I did have my small revenges in life.”

Lampard told Pernice that they had “to go to Amanda for a right of reply, obviously, Giovanni”, before reading a statement from her representatives claiming that Pernice was “trying to reframe” the investigation and that any suggestion he hadn't told his side of the story was “ludicrous”.

She then asked if he was approaching dancing in a different way, to which he replied: “You asked me the same question last time I did an interview, and I answer the same way right now.

Undated BBC handout photo of Giovanni Pernice and Amanda Abbington at a photoshoot for Strictly (BBC/PA)

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“If you want to succeed, there's only one way to succeed. Commitment, resilience, get the trophy, go home. That it what it is.”

Doyle then said: ”The thing about the book though, I get it. You want to air your view, I get it,” with Pernice saying that this was “the story of my life” and not a book dedicated to the investigation.