Strictly Come Dancing star Giovanni Pernice was support by his former partner Michelle Visage during his Let Me Entertain You show – despite the ongoing drama with Amanda Abbington.
Pernice and Abbington were paired together last year but after the Sherlock star suddenly dropped out of the competition in week five, she claimed to have PTSD from their time together.
Abbington also reportedly set about retrieving the video tapes from their rehearsals, leaving the professional dancer's future on the show being put into doubt.
Pernice has received a lot of support from his fellow dancers and friends including former partner and RuPaul’s Drag Race star Visage.
Taking to Instagram, Pernice shared a video on his story which saw him kissing Visage on the cheek and admitting she had saved him during his show.
He explained: “Unfortunately Lauren [Oakley] is not doing the show. So I did have a replacement for that,” leaving Visage to agree “I’m in!”
Michelle supported Giovanni at his Let Me Entertain You show
The pair were also joined by Hannah Waddingham who Pernice called his “dance partner for the night”, but the Ted Lasso star joked back: “I feel like you’re all going to be underwhelmed by my contribution.”
Visage danced with Pernice during the 2019 season of Strictly and spoke about his training style soon after Abbington quit the show.
She explained the Italian was the “toughest pro on the show” and added: “I don’t like gossip, so I’m not here to gossip, but what I can say from my experience was yes, he’s tough.
“He’s probably the toughest pro there is. I wanted that. So it depends, some people can handle that, some people don’t want to handle that. I wanted that.
Giovanni's future on the show has been put into doubt
BBC
“We fought every day, and it was for good reason because we got to where we wanted to be, we looked beautiful together,” she said on This Morning.
The clip of the two of them together comes after it had been reported that BBC Strictly bosses were unsure whether to offer Giovanni a celebrity pairing when the new series starts in September.
A source told The Sun: “Bosses are undecided about whether or not they will give Gio a partner, just to take the heat off him. He’s still very much loved by all the head honchos.
“But the big cheese are wondering if it might be tough to find him a partner, given the reports about his harsh teaching style and the fact anyone who’s paired with him next will have to answer questions about his behaviour.
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Giovanni Pernice has been supported by Michelle Visage
BBC
“The spotlight will be on them from day one, which is a lot to take as well as the pressure of the show. Unless they can find someone who specifically asks for him, it could be tricky.”
GB News has contacted the BBC for a comment.
