After it was reported that he’s quit Strictly Come Dancing after nine years on the BBC One show, Giovanni Pernice has left the UK and is holidaying in Dubai with his girlfriend Molly Brown.
In pictures uploaded to Molly’s Instagram page, the pair seem to be having the best time with cosy dinners, enjoying the sunshine and indulging in plenty of holiday fun.
His ladylove captioned the post: “Let me tell you about my best friend…,” with a white heart emoji as the dancer responded: “I love you. Like a lot!!”
Giovanni has been inactive on his own page since 30 April after the end of his ‘Let Me Entertain You’ tour and is yet to publicly respond to the reports of his exit. It was reported on Thursday (16 May) that the Italian native has decided to throw in the towel and move on to pastures new.
It was suggested that the BBC had been very keen to continue working with him, despite a disappointing result in 2023 when he was forced to pull out after his showbiz partner Amanda Abbington quit. However an internal memo featuring this year’s pro dancers has reportedly been circulated without his name on, The Sun claims.
A source told the publication: “Gio feels the scrutiny on him has become too much, and now is the time to make a fresh start.
“He wants to focus on other TV projects, and feels he’s achieved all he can on Strictly, having won the trophy back in 2021 and reaching the final an unprecedented four times.”
The source continued that the star “knows his style of training isn’t to everyone’s liking — especially in this day and age”.
They added: “He has a lot of other exciting projects in the pipeline right now, and he’s just super-excited to get cracking on them. This, now, is his priority.”
The BBC has remained tight-lipped when quizzed on Giovanni’s future, simply announcing: “The Professional Dancers for Strictly Come Dancing 2024 will be announced in due course.”
Express.co.uk has contacted Giovanni’s representative for comment.
Giovanni joined the BBC One show back in 2015 and has reached the final of the competition on four occasions.
He finally won in 2021 with his celebrity partner and EastEnders actress Rose Ayling-Ellis as they lifted the trophy for the 19th series.
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