Giovanni Pernice: Former Strictly star James Jordan says "there's something going on" after pro dancer axed

Former Strictly Come Dancing stars have given their thoughts on the ongoing controversy surrounding Giovanni Pernice, after he was dropped from the show’s line-up of professional dancers.

The news came as the BBC revealed their roster for the 2024 series, following allegations that Pernice was threatening and even bullied celebrity dance partners. He has vehemently denied these allegations, but it has become a hot topic in the media over the past few days. It is not known whether Pernice quit the show or he was axed by BBC bosses.

It has also somewhat overshadowed the far more positive news that Amy Dowden will make her return to Strictly Come Dancing after receiving treatment for stage three breast cancer last year.

Appearing on ITV’s This Morning, dance couple James and Ola Jordan were asked about Pernice’s omission from the line-up - and James didn’t exactly mince his words.

He said: “It’s very sad that it has come to this - Strictly is a family entertainment show, everyone loves it and you get invested in the couples. It is a shame. The only thing I will say is that there is no smoke without fire. I’ve always protected the professional dancers and we don’t know the ins and outs of it.

“Whether or not Giovanni has decided not to come back or the BBC has asked him not to come back, I’d be curious to see what the answer to that is, but I feel the BBC has dealt with it pretty well.

“I’d be devestated if one of my previous partners came forward saying I was abusive or hadn’t treated them nice in training - but he’s had four. If it was just one you’d say ‘okay, maybe it’s a massive clash of character’ - I had partners like Gabbie Logan who I could push really hard, like I would if I was training with Ola; then I’d have other people who would be more self-conscious and you have to adapt otherwise you’d break them.

“When it came to my teaching I wanted my partners to have the best Strictly experience ever. For him to have four people come forward, there’s clearly something there. But none of us clearly know enough about it.”

Ola added: “You’re not going to get along with everyone and you have to change your teaching methods to the person that you dance with, so I guess these things happen sometimes.”