Strictly Come Dancing professional Giovanni Pernice has laughed off claims he’s planning to step down from the show.
Over the weekend, Giovanni – who won last year’s series of Strictly alongside celebrity partner Rose Ayling-Ellis – and Richie Anderson became the second pair to leave the BBC dance show, after landing in the bottom two alongside Fleur East and Vito Coppola.
Following his exit, The Sun published a story claiming the Italian dancer was “threatening to quit” Strictly, citing a supposed “close pal” who claimed Giovanni felt he and his abilities were “wasted” on the new season.
However, the man himself has now insisted this is not the case.
Responding to the claims, Giovanni shared a screengrab of the tabloid’s article on his Instagram page, alongside a string of laughing emojis.
“I’m not going anywhere!” he added.
Meanwhile, a rep for the professional dancer told The Sun that Giovanni hoped to stay at Strictly for “many more years”.
“Giovanni is NOT leaving Strictly,” they added. “He loves the show and loves working with the BBC.”
Earlier in the series, Giovanni was forced to dismiss reports in the tabloid press claiming that he and Richie were not getting along behind the scenes.
During his seven years on Strictly Come Dancing, Giovanni has performed with celebrities including Georgia May Foote, Laura Whitmore, Debbie McGee and Michelle Visage.
In more recent years, he’s also been partnered with daytime presenter Ranvir Singh and EastEnders star Rose Ayling-Ellis, with whom he not only won the Glitterball Trophy but later a TV Bafta thanks to their show-stopping Couple’s Choice routine.