Former Strictly Come Dancing professional Giovanni Pernice has won the Italian dance show Ballando Con Le Stelle, months after leaving the UK in the wake of an investigation into allegations about his behaviour on the BBC show made by former dance partner Amanda Abbington.
Pernice, 34, and his celebrity partner, Italian actress and singer Bianca Guaccero, 43, were crowned winners of the 19th season of the hit reality programme on Saturday.
Ballando Con Le Stelle is the Italian equivalent of Strictly Come Dancing and its US spin-off Dancing With The Stars.
The duo, who also recently confirmed they were a romantic couple, took to social media to celebrate their win.
Palermo-born Pernice shared a clip of himself and Guaccero shortly after they were crowned the winners, alongside a caption that reads “la coppia vince”.
Translated to English, that means: “The couple wins.”
Guaccero, who fell for the former Strictly dancer during their training, shared her delight with several snaps and videos on Instagram.
“Grazie a voi, non ci posso credere,” she wrote, which roughly translates to “thank you all so much, I can not believe it.”
Pernice’s victory on the Italian dance programme comes shortly after he abandoned the UK in the wake of a BBC probe into allegations made by Abbington during her time on Strictly.
Sherlock actress Abbington was the first of a number of people to allege “inappropriate” behaviour on the show and claimed she was subject to a “toxic environment” while she trained with Pernice, who rejected the claims.
The BBC investigation into Pernice’s behaviour upheld “some, but not all” of the complaints made.
There were no findings relating to physical aggression, but complaints of verbal bullying and harassment were upheld, the PA news agency understands.
Following the BBC upholding some of her complaints, Abbington said she felt “vindication” and had “no regrets” about lodging them despite receiving “hundreds” of death and rape threats.
On Saturday, Pernice posted a video to Instagram and said: “To all my dear friends in the UK that are supporting us all the way.
“We just want to say a massive thank you, because realistically, we couldn’t do anything without you.
“And I tell you why, because, the way that the vote (works), it’s all about likes on social media…
“We can totally see which part of the votes are coming from the UK and you are being unbelievably amazing.”
In October, addressing whether he will return to Strictly after his absence this year, Pernice told ITV show Lorraine: “Who knows, never say never.”
