Giovanni Pernice is returning to UK screens for the first time since his exit from Strictly Come Dancing

Giovanni Pernice is returning to UK TV (Image: ITV)

Giovanni Pernice, the former Strictly Come Dancing star, has addressed his return to television following his departure from the BBC One dance contest. As fans are aware, Giovanni left the show after an investigation into his behaviour, although he was cleared of the most serious allegations.

The BBC issued an apology to Sherlock actress Amanda Abbington, upholding some of her complaints against her former dance partner from the 2023 series. Now, having won the Italian version of Dancing with the Stars, Ballando con le Stelle, Giovanni is set to make a comeback on UK screens.

Speaking about his stint on the upcoming series of Celebrity Hunted, he revealed that he was willing to abandon his friend Kai Widdrington in order to win the show, which starts this Sunday, Janaury 5. The 34 year old has joined forces with his dance floor buddy for his return to British TV on the Channel 4 series and was ready to go to great lengths for victory.

According to The Sun newspaper’s TVBiz column, Giovanni said: “It’s exciting to be back on British TV. It’s been too long! ” and “It was super stressful. Me and Kai are the best of mates, but I’m very competitive and he is not at the same level as me when it comes to competitiveness.”

He added, “In fact, you will see we split up. I was thinking, ‘I want to win this’, but Kai was thinking about where we could stay that was nice.”, reports the Manchester Evening News.

Giovanni shared a candid insight into their experience: “He was like, ‘Here is cool, it’s relaxed, it’s warm, let’s eat’. And I was like, ‘I don’t need to eat. I don’t want to be warm. I want to escape the Hunters!’

Kai and Giovanni are appearing on Celebrity Hunted (Image: PA)

He revealed that their differing strategies nearly resulted in them being caught on the show, which is set to return on Sunday, January 5. The Italian dancer admitted, “There were a few times we nearly got caught. So I said to him, ‘We have to split because I really need to win this’.”

Kai also expressed his belief that the show would reveal a new aspect of both dancers to the audience, beyond the Strictly glitz. The 29 year old dancer said: “When we lived together, we did a couple of bits on social media and people got a little snippet of what we’re like. But they’re going to see what we’re really like doing this!

“We work very well together. We bicker like an old married couple. Hopefully, it’s entertaining. But it is genuinely us being ourselves, it’s not put on.” For the latest TV & Showbiz news, sign up to our newsletter.