Debbie McGee has waded into the drama surrounding Giovanni Pernice’s controversial ‘teaching style’ on Strictly Come Dancing.
Magician’s assistant Debbie, 65, who was Giovannni’s celebrity partner on the show back in 2017, has again defended the professional dancer amid accusations from his previous partners.
Strictly bosses are reportedly ‘undecided’ about whether to give Giovanni, 33, a celebrity partner for the 2024 series, after he was criticised by ex-partner Amanda Abbington.
But backing his corner, Debbie has now admitted that all of her memories on the show were ‘happy ones’ and said she ‘adored’ Giovanni, as well as the rest of the team.
Speaking to the Express, she said: ‘All my memories of Strictly behind-the-scenes are happy ones. I adored every single minute and every single person I was working with.
Debbie McGee, 65, has waded into the drama surrounding Giovanni Pernice’s ‘teaching style’ on Strictly Come Dancing
Magician’s assistant Debbie, who was Giovannni’s celebrity partner on the show back in 2017, has again defended the professional dancer amid accusations from his previous partners
‘I never felt an ounce of competitiveness. Everyone supported each other – Pros and Celebrities.’
Giovanni has been criticised by ex-partner Amanda, who pulled out of the show ‘for medical reasons’ just a month into the 2023 series, later blaming it on Giovanni’s difficult behaviour during training.
The BBC have thrown their support behind Giovanni and he has vowed to remain on the show despite the crisis.
However, it has been reported that bosses are still debating giving him a new partner, fearing celebrities won’t want to be paired with him due to the claims.
Speaking to The Sun, a source said: ‘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 cheeses 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.
‘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.’
It comes after it was revealed that three of Giovanni’s past dance partners are fuming as they claim he is ‘untouchable’ as the BBC is standing behind him.
The Italian has been hit by a fresh crisis, after the trio reportedly met to discuss their difficult experiences working with him.
Strictly bosses are reportedly ‘undecided’ about whether to give Giovanni a celebrity partner for the 2024 series, after he was criticised by ex-partner Amanda Abbington
But backing his corner, Debbie has now claimed that all of her memories on the show were ‘happy ones’ and said she ‘adored’ Giovanni, as well as the rest of the team
Speaking to the Express , she said: ‘All my memories of Strictly behind-the-scenes are happy ones. I adored every single minute and every single person I was working with’
Giovanni has been criticised by ex-partner Amanda, who pulled out of the show ‘for medical reasons’ just a month into the 2023 series, later blaming it on Giovanni’s difficult behaviour during training
The BBC have thrown their support behind Giovanni and he has vowed to remain on the show, but it has been reported bosses are still debating giving him a new partner, fearing celebrities won’t want to be paired with him (pictured in October)
Sources claim Amanda, Ranvir Singh and Laura Whitmore had an ’emotional summit’ where they ‘compared notes’ about their time working with the dancer on the show.
Amanda quit Strictly back in October due to ‘personal reasons’ amid claims of a feud between her and Giovanni before reports she had demanded footage of their rehearsals after the experience in the competition left her with PTSD.
Meanwhile, Ranvir complained about Giovanni to producers back in 2020, during their time on the show, while Laura said she ‘cried every day’ and felt ‘uncomfortable’ while dancing with him in 2016.
On Saturday, a source close to the trio told MailOnline: ‘They are very unhappy with the way the BBC are handling this.’
The insider continued: ‘It’s one thing saying they are standing by him, but they feel as if Giovanni is being promoted and pushed centre stage in a bid to make them go away and keep quiet. It’s a kick in the teeth.
‘One of the reasons they wanted to meet up was to try and work on a way forward because they have no intention of just backing down and letting this just fade away.
‘All three have been impacted in different ways by what happened and they’ve agreed to speak again about how best they can get something done about it because they are genuinely worried about want went on and the fact someone else could end up experiencing what they went through.
‘But right now there’s a feeling that Gio is pretty much untouchable – especially given he is so close to Anton [Du Beke] who thinks the world of him and can’t believe the stuff he’s been hearing claimed about his mate.’
Sources claim Amanda, Ranvir Singh and Laura Whitmore had an ’emotional summit’ where they ‘compared notes’ about their time working with the dancer on the show (Ranvir pictured with Giovanni on show)
Ranvir complained about Giovanni to producers back in 2020, during their time on the show, while Laura said she ‘cried every day’ and felt ‘uncomfortable’ while dancing with him in 2016 (Laura and Giovanni pictured)
Giovanni has defended himself from the accusations of his ‘militant’ teaching style, saying he is a ‘perfectionist’ but said it came from a ‘perspective of caring’ (pictured with Amanda)
It comes after MailOnline exclusively revealed that Amanda had dropped her complaint to the BBC and had not contacted the corporation on the matter further
Sources claimed that while ‘tears were shed,’ the trio also discussed the prospect of ‘formally’ complaining to the BBC about Giovanni’s behaviour.
Giovanni has defended himself from the accusations of his ‘militant’ teaching style, saying he is a ‘perfectionist’.
Appearing on the Mirror’s Invite Only podcast alongside fellow dancer Anton Du Beke, he broke his silence on Amanda’s explosive exit from the series.
Giovanni said: ‘It’s a shame because, in my opinion, [Amanda] could have gone all the way.’
While judge Anton added: ‘I thought you and Amanda were marvellous. I thought you were terrific’ and compared the Sherlock actress’ talents to 2019 winner Kelvin Fletcher .
Giovanni admitted that was a ‘perfectionist’ but said it came from a ‘perspective of caring’ and that he believed all other professional dancers were the same.
He said: ‘In every single part of the world, if you’re a professional dancer on one of these [Strictly] shows, you have to get these people looking the best they can on Saturday night’.
‘And if we have good scores at the end, I do look back and say, ‘I’ve done a great job’. But we all care about our partners and we want that for them every single week; to look great on a Saturday’.
It comes after MailOnline exclusively revealed that Amanda had dropped her complaint to the BBC and had not contacted the corporation on the matter further.
Sources at the BBC said that the ‘matter is now closed’ and they have ‘moved on’ after she asked to review the recordings of their off-screen dancing after she left the series, citing ‘personal reasons.’
Amanda was also seeking legal advice over Giovanni’s alleged behaviour towards her, believing video footage could ‘back up’ her claims.
It is understood that the first BBC chiefs knew about her PTSD late last year when they received a request for the tapes.
One show insider told the Mail: ‘The whole thing was baffling but when Amanda contacted the BBC, she wanted some answers.
‘But she hasn’t followed it through and the matter is now closed. Amanda said she left for a medical reason at the time, but that was not PTSD.
‘Her complaint was of course looked at but they were adamant that Giovanni had done nothing wrong. The BBC were ready to fight her, Amanda’s reason for quitting Strictly was an entirely different one to her PTSD.
‘She told production of a totally different medical condition and they [were] hugely supportive of her and did all they could to help.’
