Giovanni Pernice's family have jumped to his defence after the star is said to be facing a series of allegations that include "serious misconduct".
Speculation surrounding Pernice has heightened ever since his 2023 partnership with Amanda Abbington which resulted in the actress leaving the show during week five and initially claiming it was for personal reasons.
However, weeks after her departure, Abbington claimed she had been suffering from PTSD due to Pernice's "militant" training techniques, later requesting the clips of their rehearsals together.
Since Abbington spoke out about her time with the Latin and Ballroom dancer, others including Laura Whitmore and Ranvir Singh have agreed with the Sherlock star and claimed they had a similar experience.
Whitmore noted that she "cried every day" while training with him and Singh claimed she had a "total meltdown" during rehearsals with Pernice.
The 33-year-old is facing claims from three former dancer partners who have claimed he bullied and mistreated them - something which he strenuously denies - alongside an investigation from the BBC.
Giovanni's sister claimed his family is standing by him
As more previous partners of Pernice speak out, his sister Angela has jumped to his defence and told MailOnline: "Giovanni will always have our support, he is family and there's nothing else to say.
"The whole family is behind him, mum, dad, me and everyone else, whatever he says is the truth and we support him with all our strength. We are 100 percent behind him and nothing will change that."
His parents have also spoken publicly about the star's troubles with Abbington and left his father Piero Pernice to note: "We are surprised by the fact she left the show because everything was going okay - we thought they could have won."
"My son is a really nice, polite and respectful boy. He always had good results with different partners and he has never had problems with them."
Amanda kicked off the investigation after she claimed Pernice left her with PTSD
BBC
His mother Rosalda Pernice added: "They have to train tough hours to get some results. Giovanni has just done what he had to do. He was just doing his job."
GB News has contacted Pernice's representatives for a comment.
Yesterday, one of Pernice's former dance partners Korina Travis claimed that the time she spent with him was "horrendous" and stated on social media: "I’ve known him for years as a fellow competitor and he has done horrendous things to me.
"I will not speak about my experiences with him but I’m glad the world is seeing him for who he truly is. I’ll leave it at that." (sic)
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The Strictly star's family jumped to his defence
BBC/TWITTER
Despite the ongoing drama and leaving Strictly Come Dancing, it seems Pernice already had a back-up plan before he left the BBC dance show - setting up two new businesses before his departure.
Rock Your Productions Ltd - which was filed at Companies House - relates to the "operation of arts facilities" whilst the second business GP Ballando specialises in "cultural education".
The Italian dancer hasn't completely cut ties with the BBC, as it is rumoured that his travel show with judge Anton du Beke could receive the green light for a second series to be commissioned.
