Ranvir Singh has finally spoken out as her former dance partner, Giovanni Pernice, is said to have “quit” Strictly Come Dancing. The 33 year old Italian dancer finds himself in the eye of a storm following reports on Thursday that he’s dramatically left the BBC One show after nearly a decade as a professional dancer.
This comes in the wake of allegations about tensions with his celebrity partners. Speculation started when Amanda Abbington abruptly withdrew from last year’s Strictly, later confirming she had quit due to stress and even revealing a diagnosis of post-traumatic stress disorder following her stint with Giovanni.
Despite Giovanni denying any allegations of misconduct, it’s reported that Amanda had an emotional meeting with two of Giovanni’s previous Strictly contestants – Laura Whitmore and Ranvir Singh – to discuss their “challenging experiences” with him. According to The Sun, Giovanni has now left Strictly amidst backlash over his “intense training methods”, with his name notably absent from an internal memo circulating at the BBC.
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The Italian champion dancer has been under fire for his strict training regime during his time on the hit show, and after she was partnered with Giovanni on the 2020 series, Ranvir confessed she was terrified of the performer. “Don’t be fooled by his angelic face! He is a fiery Italian, super strict – I am a bit scared of him,” she said on Good Morning Britain.
Since then, she’s kept quiet on her former professional dance partner, and as the allegations against Giovanni build up, Ranvir has finally broken her silence, reports the Mirror.
Sharing a post on her Instagram Stories, the ITV presenter promoted an online yoga and relaxation session, as she refused to be drawn on speculation surrounding Giovanni’s rumoured departure from the BBC show. The broadcaster wasn’t the only one who had issues with the Italian dancer, as Laura Whitmore has also voiced her concerns about training with Giovanni following her stint on the show in 2016.
“I’m still not ready to talk in depth about my experience on the show,” Amanda Abbington revealed on the Private Parts podcast in 2020, detailing her discomfort with her dance partner. “I was placed with a dance partner I was extremely uncomfortable with and in the end I felt broken. I cried every day. And I really was broken, both mentally and physically, by the end.”
She expressed frustration over being isolated with Giovanni for extensive periods, including red carpet events and training sessions.
“What I didn’t like was being removed from everybody and having to spend 12 hours a day with this one person,” she said, clearly agitated.
Amanda has been at the heart of the controversy surrounding Giovanni Pernice, and earlier this year, she made a request to BBC chiefs for rehearsal footage, fuelling speculation about possible further action against the Italian dancer. Her early exit from the show after just five weeks has only intensified the whispers about Giovanni’s coaching style.
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