A former Strictly star has aimed a cryptic dig at Giovanni Pernice’s former dance partners and said they’re both “fiery Italians”.
Michelle Visage, who appeared on the 17th season of Strictly Come Dancing alongside Giovanni, recently opened up about her former co-star’s “tough” approach to the much-loved BBC dance competition.
The BBC previously launched a probe after the former Strictly pro’s partner, Amanda Abbington, left the show in 2023, with the actress levelling accusations against Giovanni that he was “abusive” to her, reports the Daily Record.
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It resulted in six of the 17 complaints being upheld against Giovanni; however, it did not find that he had physically abused her. Meanwhile, Michelle has revealed that she “trusted” Giovanni during her stint on the show.
Michelle has revealed that she “trusted” Giovanni during her stint on the show -Credit:Getty Images
Michelle told Closer magazine: “It was fantastic. We argued all the time because we’re fiery Italians, but I wanted him as my partner, and he wanted me. Is he tough? Yeah. Did I want that? Yeah. You know what you’re getting when you get Gio.
“He’s not for everybody, but he’s definitely for me. I had the best time of my life without any exception. If you’re fragile and you don’t want to put in the graft, it’s not for you. I trusted Giovanni and we looked beautiful together.”
It was reported earlier this week that Giovanni has insisted that he was a “strict teacher” and claimed that he was never a bully. It came as the dancer made a return to British screens on an episode of Channel 4’s Celebrity Hunted.
Giovanni told the Sunday Mirror: “I’m not going to lie, there were dark moments in terms of, you know, this is finished, this is the end of my career. That was one of my down moments. Sorry for my language but 2024 can f**k off. I’ve been looking forward to seeing the back of it.”
Michelle opened up about her former co-star’s “tough” approach -Credit:BBC/Guy Levy
The BBC issued an apology to Amanda following the conclusion of the probe, with Giovanni admitting there were “dark times” and adding that he was “expecting and waiting that all of this would finish”.
Michelle Visage, who is known for her appearances on the RuPaul’s Drag Race judging panel, secured eighth position on the show. She and Giovanni danced to Madonna’s Vogue as part of the couple’s choice performance.
Speaking to the audience at Ru Paul’s Drag Con UK, Michelle said they “wanted to do something different”. She added: “Strictly is amazing, but it’s been the same for a very long time.”
“If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it but being the queer ally I am, I wanted to leave a mark,” she added. Michelle also went on to reveal that she wanted to “push things forward” on the show.