Giovanni Pernice has opened up on life after Strictly Come Dancing after being axed due to an investigation into his conduct.
His 2023 celebrity partner on the BBC show Amanda Abbington made complaints about Giovannifollowing their time together on the show, leading to an investigation.
The BBC cleared Giovanni of 11 of the complaints – including the most serious against him – but did uphold six.
After leaving the show, he went on to compete on the Italian version of the show – titled Ballando Con Le Stelle – and won last year’s series with now-girlfriend Bianca Guaccero.
And in an exclusive interview with heatworld, Giovanni has now opened up on which members of the Strictly Come Dancing cast he is still friends with… and it’s good news for fans.
He said, ‘I’m obviously still in touch with my best friend, which is Anton Du Beke.
‘All of the judges have been super supportive, I’m very close with Kai [Widdrington], we did Celebrity Hunted together. Lauren [Oakley], most of the professionals,’ he continued.
'I’m pretty much in touch with all of them. We’ve all spent a lot of time together and we’ve all built a nice friendship. We are a big family.’
When Giovanni and Bianca lifted the Ballando Con Le Stelle trophy in December, some of the Strictly judges publicly showed their support.
Shirley Ballas commented on a video of them winning, ‘A huge congratulations. Wow what a trophy. Well deserved. See you soon x.’
Craig Revel-Horwood added a simple ‘Congratulations’ alongside a party popper emoji.
Giovanni will reunite with Lauren Oakley on stage in April when they perform together at a Strictly-weekend at a hotel in Wales.
And he will head back out on the road with Anton Du Beke on a mammoth 36-date tour in June and July.
Giovanni’s tour, The Last Dance, is touring the UK now - for tickets please go to Giovanni's website.