One year on from his last Strictly stint with Amanda Abbington, Giovanni Pernice is set to return to TV in just a matter of days together with other well-known famous faces
The date for Giovanni Pernice ‘s return to television has been confirmed – and it is soon.
Former Strictly professional Giovanni, 34, will make his return to TV as he joins a host of other famous faced on Channel 4 show Celebrity Hunted. This will be the first major show Gio has starred in since the end of the BBC probe into allegations of bullying and abuse made by Amanda Abbington.
The series, which stars Italian stallion Giovanni – as well as the likes of Blue star Duncan James and Corrie legend Denise Welch – was due to have aired earlier in the year. However, the show was temporarily shelved during the internal investigation into the BBC.
Following on from the results of the investigation, Giovanni has been grafting hard, pulling off an amazing run on the Italian version of Strictly, Ballando con le Stelle. Gio is now within touching distance of the glitterball trophy in his native homeland as he reached the final together with celebrity partner Bianca Guaccero.
But back in the UK, Giovanni is now set to return to our screens on January 5 in the first major British TV show in over a year. The series had been filmed in aid of Stand Up to Cancer, with Giovanni being paired up with fellow Strictly star Kai Widdrington.
Among the other celebrities set to go on the run are Celebrity Big Brother star Zeze Millz and podcaster David Whiteley. Former BBC News stalwart Simon McCoy will also become a fugitive, together with ITV newsreader and former Dancing on Ice contestant Lucrezia Millarini.
Soap stars are not exempt from the challenge either as EastEnders legend Danielle Harold, who bowed out of the show last year, will be trying to evade the hunters for the next three weeks. She will be working with Coronation Street star Kimberley Hart Simpson.
Giovanni’s appearance comes after the six-month long investigation into allegations he abused and bullied Amanda Abbington were partially dropped. Eleven of the seventeen complaints lodged by Amanda were dismissed following the probe, including all allegations that Giovanni had been physically abusive to the Sherlock star.
During her claims, Amanda, 50, insisted that she was the victim of a “verbal litany of abuse” and had been exposed to a “toxic work environment”. Gio, who had been on the show since 2015, strongly denied the allegations made against him, saying he dismissed all “claims of threatening or abusive behaviour”.
When the results of the investigation were released in September, a spokesperson for Giovanni said he and his team were “pleased that this six month review has not found any evidence of such behaviour and is relieved that the overwhelming majority of allegation’s have not been upheld by the BBC”. The channel said it “upheld some, but not all” of Amanda’s claims and partially apologised to her for the treatment she endured.
Celebrity Hunted will air on January 5 at 9pm on Channel 4.
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Source: Celebrities - dailystar.co.uk
