Strictly Come Dancing stars Luba Mushtuk and Jowita Przystal gave an update on the professional line-up for the next series during an appearance on BBC Breakfast on Monday.
It comes days after Giovanni Pernice sparked rumours he could quit the hit show following his feud with Amanda Abbington over his training style – despite the BBC fully supporting him.
Speaking with presenter Sally Nugent, Luba and Jowita opened up about the next series of the dancing competition – despite it not starting until September.
Asked whether they would be returning, Jowita said: ‘Hopefully we are back, we don’t know yet. You will have to watch to find out’.
Luba added: ‘Figures crossed, it is very exciting.’
Strictly Come Dancing stars Luba Mushtuk and Jowita Przystal gave an update on the professional line-up for the next series during an appearance on BBC Breakfast on Monday
It comes days after Giovanni Pernice sparked rumours he could quit the hit show following his feud with Amanda Abbington over his training style – despite the BBC fully supporting him
The dancers are set to head back on the road for their Strictly Professionals tour starting next month on May 1.
Jowita said: ‘We are very excited to get back together with the pros. It is a lot of fun, we are like a family, brothers and sisters.
‘To be able to make a beautiful show and share the stage with some of the best dancers in the world, they are the best.’
Notably Giovanni is not part of the line-up, which includes Dianne Buswell, Vito Coppola, Carlos Gu, Karen Hauer, Neil Jones, Nikita Kuzmin, Gorka Marquez, Luba, Graziano di Prima, Jowita, Michelle Tsiakkas and Nancy Xu.
Giovanni has currently been busy starring in his own show, Let Me Entertain You, which will end in Woking on April 30.
The update comes days after Giovanni named his 2025 tour Giovanni: The Last Dance, leading to speculation about his time on Strictly.
The name of his tour has led fearful fans believe it could be his final series on the BBC programme.
A source told The Mirror: ‘It is no secret that the last few months have been difficult for Giovanni. The name of his 2025 show will certainly get the rumour mill spinning.’
Asked whether they would be returning, Jowita said: ‘Hopefully we are back, we don’t know yet. You will have to watch to find out’, Luba added: ‘Figures crossed, it is very exciting’
The dancers are set to head back on the road for their Strictly Professionals tour starting next month on May 1, notably Giovanni is not part of the line-up (Luba is pictured in 2022)
Giovanni has currently been busy starring in his own show, Let Me Entertain You, which will end in Woking on April 30
Another source told the publication that the name of Giovanni’s tour was planned long before Amanda quit the show.
Amanda, 52, quit mid-series last year due to ‘personal reasons’ amid claims of a feud between her and the dancer, 33, before reports she had demanded footage of their rehearsals after the experience in the competition left her with PTSD.
But despite being hit with fresh allegations that he left a fourth celebrity in tears, MailOnline revealed the BBC were backing Giovanni ‘all the way’ and he would return to the show later this year after the broadcaster offered him a new contract.
The allegations, attributed to sources close to his most recent dance partner Amanda, made out Giovanni was ‘abrasive’ with his partners and had reduced some to tears.
While Strictly insiders agree that Giovanni pushes his partners hard to give them the best possible chance of winning the glitterball, they insist he is no bully.
And that’s why, despite accusations from Amanda and three of his previous partners, Giovanni was ‘offered a contract’ at the meeting and readily accepted.
‘He is thrilled,’ says one insider on the BBC One show. ‘While there are dots on i’s and crosses on t’s still to be written in, it all looks to be happening for him.
‘As it’s the 20th anniversary, it’s a big year for the show and everyone involved wants Giovanni to be part of it.
‘It has been a really difficult few months for him. To have been hit with such claims – but not having anything he can respond to – has been really, really tough.’
Actress Amanda, 52, quit mid-series last year due to ‘personal reasons’ amid claims of a feud between her and Giovanni, before reports she had demanded footage of their rehearsals
Both the BBC and Team Giovanni say there have been no official complaints made about his behaviour
In fact, one source described the claims as a ‘nasty witch hunt’, which could not just have ended his Strictly TV career but endangered his place on the international ballroom dancing circuit generally.
It all began in January when the Sun reported that former Sherlock star Amanda had asked the BBC for CCTV footage of the pair rehearsing. She claimed to have suffered ‘post traumatic stress disorder’ as a result of appearing on the programme and was considering legal action.
Both Giovanni and Strictly bosses believe the story was leaked by friends of Amanda, who has never made any comments on the record about the matter.
In fact, despite numerous stories that she and Giovanni did not get on during the series – at the time, she insisted they were the best of friends.
Three weeks ago, the row erupted once again after the Sun reported that Amanda had met Good Morning Britain’s Ranvir Singh and television presenter Laura Whitmore – who were both former Strictly partners of Giovanni – to discuss their own ‘difficult’ experiences working with him.
This led to ‘tears being shed’, according to sources close to Amanda, who shared details of the meeting.
Despite Giovanni’s friends rebuffing the story as ‘three women meeting up for a coffee and a moan’, once again, the dancer was left ‘upset’ at the reports.
The lack of evidence, and the fact that Amanda told bosses she was leaving Strictly before the end of the series last year for a different medical reason, left them with nothing to formally investigate.
‘The BBC are backing him all of the way,’ says an insider at the broadcaster. ‘There have been no complaints about Giovanni’s behaviour, nobody has actually come forward and said, ‘He did this to me’ or ‘He did that to me’.
‘Nothing has come to light from any of these people and it feels very unfair to judge someone and potentially dump someone from their job because of what is written in the red tops.’
Despite being hit with fresh allegations that he left a fourth celebrity in tears, MailOnline revealed the BBC were backing Giovanni ‘all the way’ and he would return to the show
The allegations, attributed to sources close to his most recent dance partner Amanda (pictured) made out Giovanni was ‘abrasive’ with his partners and had reduced some to tears
