GIOVANNI Pernice has declared his love for Strictly head judge Shirley Ballas after vowing to clear his name.
The professional dancer, 33, who quit the ballroom show earlier this year, is under investigation by the BBC over misconduct after complaints were filed by several of his former celebrity dance partners.
Taking to his Instagram Story yesterday, Giovanni wrote: "Oh, I love you," with laughing and heart emojis alongside a video from Shirley's grid.
The Queen of Latin had tagged him in a video from her book signing event, initially insisting that nobody had turned up.
However, the camera soon panned around to show a full audience of fans, eager to get her signature on her Murder on the Dance Floor novel.
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It comes after The Sun exclusively reported how Giovanni had made a "lewd" gesture to his dance partner during rehearsals.
OFF SCREEN
Gio is facing claims he upset partner Amanda Abbington and others with crude remarks.
A source told us: “The BBC inquiry has been told Giovanni’s lewd behaviour wasn’t limited solely to Amanda — he did similar to other dance partners as well.
“It’s alleged he would grab his crotch in front of them if they did something good in rehearsals.”
The new claims come after The Sun revealed the BBC was looking into complaints of bullying against Giovanni from three former celebrity partners, including Sherlock actress Amanda and TV presenter Laura Whitmore.
Amanda, who quit Strictly's 2023 series, has since claimed she had mild PTSD from working with Gio.
The Sun has also revealed a male celebrity has now joined them in the complaints.
One dancer is also said to have needed "three months of therapy" after starring on the BBC series.
Meanwhile, Strictly could have recruited another male dancer after Giovanni quit earlier this year.
FIGHT BACK
Giovanni, who has previously denied any wrongdoing, has instructed legal firm Schillings to fight his corner.
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The Sun exclusively revealed how a spokesman for Giovanni said: “Schillings is engaging with BBC Studios to provide it with Giovanni’s evidence to strongly rebut the claims being made about him and confirm that Giovanni is fully cooperating with that process.
“As with any reality TV show, when decisions are being made for entertainment reasons, the producers have a duty of care to all participants.”
A source then previously said: “Giovanni remains adamant he’s done nothing wrong bar being a perfectionist, and a hard taskmaster.
“He wants to hear what allegations these claimants have against him but is adamant he will clear his name."
