Giovanni Pernice insists he holds no ill will towards Amanda Abbington after bullying allegations as he hints at potential Strictly return

Giovanni Pernice has insisted he harbors no ill will towards Amanda Abbington after he was cleared of most bullying allegations in a BBC investigation.

The former Come Dancing pro, 34, appeared on Lorraine on Tuesday to speak about the investigation, after telling the full story of what happened between him and Amanda Abbington to the Mail’s Katie Hind. Read the interview here.

Giovanni admitted he would have a “nice cup of tea” with the 50-year-old actress if he were in the same room with her now so they could discuss things.

But he denied the pair ever had an argument in the rehearsal room, claiming they “never had an argument,” and he was unaware she was uncomfortable until she made the allegations months later.

During the interview, Giovanni also hinted at the possibility of him returning to Strictly – after leaving as a result of the investigation.

When asked on Lorraine, hosted by Christine Lampard on Tuesday, whether he would say sorry to Amanda if he were in a room with her right now, Giovanni said: ‘I think we would have a nice cup of tea, us’ We’ll have a chat and talk about what happened in that room.

“It’s very difficult because everything was perfect then.”

Giovanni added: “Me and Amanda never had a fight.

“Yes, she clearly says she was very uncomfortable, and that was after six months, but why didn’t you come then?”

He continued: ‘You would come to me and say, “We’re not getting along”, then I’d probably have a chat like any other relationship, we’d have a chat and we talk about it and we try to make it better .

‘But realistically, Amanda and I have never had an argument. We always have discussions about steps. Yes, we have had meetings with the BBC, but we always move forward from there. I did have a meeting with the BBC with all my other partners.”

Despite being cleared of most of Amanda’s complaints and saying it had been a difficult year, Giovanni went on to say he supported Amanda in speaking out when she thought something had happened, and said someone else had in that situation should do.

“It’s good that Amanda came forward to talk about something she thought happened,” he said.

‘It’s important that if there’s something, if you’re not feeling well, it’s important that you talk to someone. I’m not against the investigation being started in the first place, because everyone, literally everyone, if they have a problem, they need to go talk to someone in production about this.

“So I think she did the right thing. Yes, and I’m glad the investigation is completed and we have results.’

At the end of the conversation with Christine, Giovanni alluded to the fact that a return to Strictly wasn’t completely out of the question.

He said: “I think I’m really concentrating on Dancing with the Stars Italy at the moment.

‘I have a tour in January, so I’ll definitely be back to the UK from January to July, and then who knows. Never say never.’

Speaking to Mail reporter Katie Hind this weekend, Giovanni opened up about how he found his and Amanda’s relationship in the rehearsal room.

BBC bosses finally published their report into Giovanni’s behavior on Monday, and it cleared him of the most serious allegations of physical aggression but confirmed verbal bullying and intimidation.

Meanwhile, Giovanni said he was ‘pleased’ to be cleared of ‘threatening and insulting behaviour’.

The report also detailed how they had accepted six of Amanda’s 17 allegations. The report said Giovanni – a perfectionist – ‘swore and used what could be described as derogatory language’, which amounted to bullying behaviour.

The BBC apologized to the former Sherlock actress and also thanked her for coming forward to express her grievances.

In the report of the six-month investigation which cost license fee payers more than £250,000, investigators found the Italian dancer had used derogatory language. On another occasion he said: ‘I’m tired of it, if you want to look damned, I don’t care.’

Amanda’s complaint that Giovanni would become frustrated with her while he taught her to dance was also upheld by the panel. However, it has also been revealed that he told her: ‘You have so much talent and you don’t use it.’

Another time he told her, “I don’t know how to ask you anymore,” while in another comment he told her, “It’s been four days now and I don’t know what to do,” it was also reported behavior considered unlawful.

In another outburst, Giovanni said ‘f*****’ as he taught her how to perform a routine.

Meanwhile, accusations that the Sicily-born ballroom star had also given negative feedback were confirmed. An example of this was him throwing his arms in the air and saying ‘f***’. As a result, Giovanni was told by the BBC that he had not adapted enough to Amanda’s needs.

Of the two complaints upheld of a sexual nature, one saw Giovanni grab his crotch and make an obscene comment.

He also told his dance partner that he wanted to “fuck her.” That comment came after Amanda took a huge step in the training studio and Giovanni was thrilled.

Despite many of Amanda’s serious allegations being made public by the BBC, they still apologized to her. In a statement released on Monday, they said: ‘The BBC has now concluded its investigation into Amanda Abbington’s complaints against Giovanni Pernice.

‘We have assessed the complaints and found some, but not all, of the complaints to be well-founded. We would like to apologize to Amanda Abbington and thank her for coming and participating.

“We know this wouldn’t have been easy.”

In response, Amanda said: ‘As the BBC indicated in its statement today, my decision to come forward and complain about Giovanni Pernice’s behavior towards me was not an easy one.

‘In the days, weeks and months since I contacted the BBC, I have been accused of being a liar, a troublemaker and ‘crazy and unstable’.