There's no way back for me on Strictly, heartbroken Giovanni tells KATIE HIND, as he opens up on his romance with an older woman, and reveals his sweet message to British fans... - suong

'It was a very difficult year for me so that was the cherry on the cake at the end with the celebrations.'

But while the accomplished Giovanni makes every spin and turn on the dance floor look effortless – much like his easy charm in person – make no mistake, his appearance on the Italian Strictly was a high-stakes affair.

Beautiful Bianca, famous in Italy as a TV actress, was Giovanni's first dance partner since Sherlock actress Amanda Abbington's slew of troubling allegations against him from their time on the UK's Strictly in 2023, after which he left the show.

While many of Amanda's accusations were not upheld by the BBC, the pressure remained on Giovanni. If similar tensions had erupted between him and Bianca so soon after his name had been sullied, his television career would surely have been on a tenuous footing.

In the event, precisely the opposite happened: Bianca and he fell head over heels in love. And, as he emotionally confesses to me, Bianca helped rebuild his confidence with the opposite sex – personally and professionally.

Giovanni Pernice bounced back by winning the Italian version of Strictly Come Dancing with Bianca Guaccero last year

We were so happy to be put together and she was supportive of me over the Amanda situation from the get-go.

'We built a friendship, we spent a lot of time together,' he said. 'Because of the show you get to know the person next to you quicker. After a month together, I felt 'Actually I like you a bit more than that'.

'So I took her for dinner in Rome and now we are together. I'm not telling you what happened that night as I don't kiss and tell, but I think she's just happy.

'She said that she felt safe with me. And I think this is what anybody wants as a man. This is what I want to hear: when your lady feels safe with you. She's a beautiful human being and this is the real thing.'

Indeed, so deep is their attraction that Giovanni hasn't ruled out marrying her. 'Obviously, if you are together with somebody, the idea is that,' he winks.

Aged 44, Bianca is almost ten years older than Giovanni, but she isn't the only older woman he's dated. In 2018 he found love with former Pussycat Dolls singer Ashley Roberts, also almost a decade older than him, while they appeared on Strictly, albeit not as a dancing pair.

So does he enjoy being a toyboy? 'Age is just a number,' he smiles. 'As long as you're good with that person, that's what matters. I don't think it's important.'

Well known in Italy, Bianca comes from a showbusiness family with her brother Domenico, a famous musician. Already, she and Giovanni are being touted as something of a celebrity power couple in their homeland.

For now, though, Giovanni is back in London, the city he's adopted as his home. Bianca has already visited for New Year celebrations, taking in the Ritz, Buckingham Palace and a stroll around the West End's Theatreland. Clearly, Giovanni is keen to show his new love the finest things in life, as he explains.

Amanda Abbington unleashed slew of troubling allegations against Giovanni from their time on the UK's Strictly in 2023. Only six of 17 were upheld by the BBC

'It was so romantic. We went to the Ritz for dinner and we celebrated the year with a glass of champagne, followed by a nice bottle of wine.

'But then Bianca had to go back.She is busy in Italy and I am in the UK, so it is going to be a long distance relationship for now. She will come over when she can and I will go there when I can. There is a lot of FaceTime in between, which isn't ideal, but it is lovely.' It is certainly a far cry from the turbulent events of last year.

'It was a very bad dream,' he tells me. 'It was a difficult year, but I managed to get through it. I can see the light at the end of the tunnel. It's important to remember that.

'And when I saw that trophy in Rome I knew I had got through it.' Giovanni says he is tougher for his experiences, too: 'I had to be,' he said. 'My parents worried so much. They are so happy now and so relieved it's over.

'People ask how I kept going. The truth is I had to. It was hard but I have faith. I believe in God. I knew what I did and I just had to wait until the thing finished.'

Dressed down in a grey tracksuit, a baseball cap and his signature diamond earring, the Giovanni I meet is a much happier one than the last time we met in October, shortly after the results of the BBC investigation.

Ebullient and relaxed, his contentment is the polar opposite of what emerged from his last Strictly pairing.

Giovanni strolls the streets with Bianca, his new flame. The pair commenced their relationship on the back of their successful stint on the dance show

It took just six weeks for Amanda Abbington to quit the show, and she later complained to the BBC about Giovanni's behaviour. Last March, the Corporation announced there would be an investigation into her allegations. Six months later, in October, BBC bosses upheld six out of the 17 complaints made by Amanda about Giovanni.

As a result, the BBC apologised to her and thanked her for coming forward to complain. Their review judged that Giovanni had used 'belittling' language towards her.

Within the report, which cost upwards of £250,000, investigators found that on another occasion Giovanni said: 'I'm tired of it, if you want to look s*** I don't care.' The Sherlock actress was also ruled to have been the only one of the pair, as seen in what was available of the hours of rehearsal footage, to use the 'c-word'.

During their exchanges via phone messages, Amanda, 52, referred to the professional dancer as a 'k***head,' a 'd***face' a 't**t,' despite simultaneously complaining that he was abusive to her.

Giovanni was forced to stand down from his role before the investigation concluded. Now, the question on the lips of every Strictly fan is whether he will return for the 2025 UK season later this year?

Giovanni's broad smile disappears as he answers: 'I think they have closed the book on that and everyone has moved on. I would love to go back to Strictly because Strictly changed my life. It is a massive show, but I don't think they're going to have me back. They're not.'

Clearly, the subject of a return is something that upsets Giovanni's hard-fought-for equilibrium – not least because, as I point out, he has millions of fans in the UK who will be saddened to hear that the schism created after Amanda's accusations looks, for now, to be a permanent one.

'I'm upset as well,' he says. 'It's been a great, great, great ten years. I achieved everything. But it's not my choice, it's not my decision. Everybody has moved on.

'Maybe I might come back in a few years like Aljaz [Škorjanec, a fellow dancer who had a break from the programme for several years before returning for the last series]. I think this is the path we take. And don't forget, I'm the reigning Italian champion.'

Amanda branded Giovanni a 'k***head,' a 'd***face' and a 't**t' despite simultaneously complaining that he was abusive to her

It is thought that the BBC 'want a quiet life' and there are fears in its upper echelons that Giovanni returning could prompt more ugly outbursts from a vocal Amanda. Yet it's also thought the Strictly production team have pushed for his return, based not only on how popular he is with its audience, but how loved he was among the cast and backstage crew.

There was a 'clear the air' session between Giovanni and Strictly bosses and other corporate executives at the organisation late last year.

Invited to discuss the findings of the review – just as Amanda was – Giovanni confesses that he found the meeting surprisingly emotional, rather than one filled with anger or recrimination. Indeed, today, he says that though his UK Strictly journey has come to an abrupt end, he still can't quite find it in himself to be angry at BBC bosses.

'The meeting was great, they were very nice to me,' he says. 'They were probably the same to Amanda. They had to do what they had to do. They did their job.

'I think the result of their investigation was right: it proved there was no aggression and nothing criminal. We did shout, and we said the same words.

'I didn't have the opportunity to speak to people I had worked with for ten years because they were not allowed [to communicate with me] because there was an investigation going on. So it was nice for me to go in and see them.'

But Strictly aside, Giovanni's work in the UK is, happily, not yet complete. We meet at a dance studio in Fulham, West London, where he is rehearsing for a new tour, The Last Dance, which starts on Monday. As I arrive, I catch the end of his routine to The Greatest Show from The Greatest Showman movie. It is sensational. Sweetly, he says his British fans saved him.

'It's heartening when people see through these things and they actually support you,' he says. 'I think what is nice is the fact that people, after ten years of my career, know who Giovanni is. They have always been there supporting me.'

So great is his appreciation for his fans, he has dedicated a section of his forthcoming tour – which will end with a show at the London Palladium on May 4 – to them.

'I want everyone to know how grateful I am,' he said. 'I might not have Strictly in my life anymore but I am performing at the Palladium. Sir Bruce Forsyth is under there [the entertainer's ashes were laid to rest under the stage at the theatre in 2018]. I can't believe I am doing that.'

If I were a betting woman, I would expect Giovanni to return to Ballando Con Le Stelle this year to defend his role as reigning Italian champion.

It begs the question: has he, or will he, adapt his training style following Amanda's complaints?

'The whole thing made me question everything but I didn't change for the show in Italy and I won that so this is what I think is right.

'Maybe the approach could be different, but then when you end up doing the same show in a different country and win the show… I have found the answer everyone has been searching for.'

An answer which, we can safely presume, translates as a polite, but emphatic, no.

Last Dance opens on Monday, January 20 at the Wycombe Swan. For tickets go to giovannipernice.com.