GIOVANNI Pernice looked to be living the high life as he poured glasses of champagne on board a private jet to Italy.
The luxurious jaunt comes amid reports the ongoing Strictly Comes Dancing probe into his conduct on the show has cost him £350,000 in missed TV opportunities.
The outcome of the investigation, which has been rumbling on for four months, has been delayed.
As a result, other TV shows have been reluctant to offer the Italian dancer big money deals in case he’s found guilty.
The Mail reports that Italian dancing show Ballando con le Stelle has pulled their £100k offer amid the uncertainty, while a rumoured £250k deal to join I’m A Celebrity looks unlikely too.
A source said: “Gio was so excited that he was going to keep on dancing and what made it so much more lovely is that it would have been in his home country.
“But the deadline was looming and the Ballando bosses just couldn’t wait any longer for the BBC to announce their verdict. They are as gutted as Gio is.
“He has so many offers on the table but without the BBC clearing his name he can’t move forward. Nobody can understand why this is taking so long.”
The investigation findings were due to be revealed earlier this month but the date clashed with disgraced Huw Edwards‘ court case over child abuse images.
Sherlock star Amanda Abbington, 50, quit last year’s series of Strictly just five weeks in.
She then launched a complaint against her dance partner Giovanni, accusing him of being “abusive, cruel and mean”.
The dancer, 33, who quit the BBC show after nine years in May, has denied any wrongdoing.
It is believed six people were spoken to during the probe, including Laura Whitmore, Giovanni’s dance partner in 2016.
BBC boss Charlotte Moore has candidly addressed the recent claims.
Speaking at the Edinburgh TV festival, she said: “Let’s just put it in perspective – this is a show that has given so much joy to the nation, to people taking part in it, frankly as well as audiences, so it’s a really important show for us.
“I want to make sure that it’s a positive experience for everyone that takes part, from the crew, to the make up artist, to the celebrities, to the dancers.
“It needs to be a positive experience.”
Strictly Come Dancing's scandal has been growing over the past few months, with several major players speaking out about what went on. Here are the key moments of what's happened so far
16th May: Giovanni Pernice sensationally quits Strictly Come Dancing after nine years on the show.
17th May: Giovanni becomes the centre of an official investigation after three former partners – believed to be Amanda Abbington, Laura Whitmore and Ranvir Singh – make complaints to the BBC.
16th June: Giovanni releases an official statement vowing to clear his name and denies any wrongdoing.
8th July: Strictly confirms Aljaz Skorjanec will return to the series, replacing Giovanni, after initially quitting the show two years ago.
10th July: Amanda Abbington launches fresh legal proceedings to get the rehearsal footage from her time with Giovanni, after allegedly he refused to release the videos.
13th July: Graziano Di Prima is axed from Strictly for “gross misconduct” after footage of his treatment of Zara McDermott is brought to the attention of the BBC.
Graziano quickly broke his silence, apologising for his behaviour in a statement and saying he “deeply regrets it”, adding his “intense passion and determination to win might have affected his training regime.”
15th July: Strictly bosses implement new duty of care protocols, including having a chaperone present throughout all rehearsals.
16th July: Zara McDermott speaks out publicly for first time. She states while the production team were “amazing to work with”, she found the rehearsal room “completely different”, confirming there’s footage of “certain situations”.
19th July: Anton Du Beke is put under the spotlight for his “1970s attitude” and treatment of female celeb stars, particularly after allegedly referring to 2009 partner Laila Rouass as a “p***” after getting a spray tan.
21st July: Paralympian Will Bayley, who has limb condition arthrogryposis, revealed he was encouraged to leap from a table during a dance routine, despite fears. The stunt caused an injury that forced him to withdraw from the show.
22nd July: MasterChef’s Gregg Wallace admits he broke down in tears and got a nasty stress rash on his face during his time on Strictly in 2014.
22nd July: Despite ongoing issues, the Strictly professional cast begin rehearsals for this year’s series.
23rd July: Celebrity agent Melanie Blake claims she was sexually assaulted by an unnamed pro dancer while backstage on the show, and claims she witnessed ageism, rudeness and a rough treatment to the point of injury.
23rd July: Strictly is forced to beef up security after ‘an intruder scales the wall of the rehearsal studio’.
23rd July: BBC boss Tim Davie breaks his silence on the ongoing allegations against Strictly, saying he is ‘deeply sorry’, adding: “Hundreds of people, be they pros, contestants or crew have been part of it and had a brilliant experience.
“At the same time if someone thinks there was something wrong or they want to talk about their experience then of course we want them to raise that with us. Be in no doubt we will take it seriously, listen and deal with it as appropriate.”
24th July: Strictly 2023 star Krishnan Guru-Murthy holds a bombshell interview with Amanda Abbington on Channel 4 news, where she claims she was bullied, with some of the ‘humilation being of a sexual nature’.
27th July: Laura Whitmore releases a statement regarding her Strictly experience, saying “I thought my experience was specific to me but I’ve since learned I was wrong”.
She adds she is not part of the official complaint, but has come forward to support Amanda with the BBC, alongside others.
28th July: Laila Rouass speaks out against the accusations regarding Anton Du Beke, saying she “never felt pressured” by him and “personally insisted on six to seven hours training a day”.
August 10: Graziano breaks his silence on his Strictly axe, saying “these vile, false allegations have ruined my life.”
He also told of the “shocking” end to his friendship with Zara McDermott.
