Strictly judge Shirley Ballas breaks her silence on BBC bullying probe findings – after she showed public support for pal Giovanni Pernice

Strictly Come Dancing judge Shirley Ballas has broken her silence on the findings of a year-long BBC bullying investigation.

Dancer Giovanni Pernice this week shared his “relief” at having been cleared of the “majority” of allegations made against him by his former partner, actress Amanda Abbington.

One of the members of the Strictly team who supported Giovanni during the investigation was judge Shirley, 64, and she shared her thoughts on its conclusion on Wednesday.

“I don’t condone bullying – I’ve experienced it myself,” she said The mirror. ‘So if things are not right or need to be addressed, I sympathize with the person who wants that.

‘And I think that’s a big, important part: that everyone can say their own thing. But now the investigation is over and everyone can move on.’

Dancer Giovanni Pernice this week shared his ‘relief’ at being cleared of the ‘majority’ of the allegations against him by his former partner, actress Amanda Abbington (pictured in July)

In July it was reported that Shirley had been told by BBC bosses to ‘curb in’ her public support for Giovanni while the company continued to investigate.

Head judge Shirley expressed his support for the dancer, saying he is a ‘good friend’ to her and she will always be ‘by his side’.

However, according to The mirrorbosses at the Beeb were unhappy that Shirley had been so outspoken in her support for Giovanni due to the nature of the claims against him.

A source said: ‘Shirley has been told to keep it under control and not talk about Giovanni in the context of the case.

‘It’s so complicated that we can’t get people involved in the show to speak out about it.’

MailOnline contacted Strictly Come Dancing representatives for comment at the time.

Actress Amanda abruptly quit the show in just week five of last year’s series, citing personal reasons, before accusing Giovanni of ‘mean’ and ‘cruel’ behaviour.

Giovanni said he was “relieved” at the end of the investigation, which found all but six charges in his favor.

One of the members of the Strictly team who supported Giovanni during the investigation was judge Shirley, 64, and she shared her thoughts on its conclusion on Wednesday.

The report investigating what happened during the training has not been made public

Although bosses did not support allegations that Mr Pernice was physically aggressive, some of Amanda’s complaints of verbal bullying and intimidation were upheld.

The BBC also agreed with Amanda that it seemed like he sometimes gave her overly negative feedback.

After the findings were published, Giovanni told MailOnline: ‘I’m glad the review is finally over.

‘The majority of the allegations have been dismissed by the review. It’s been an extremely difficult year, reading story after story and not being able to say anything back, because I respected the integrity of the review, which is what the BBC asked everyone to do.

‘I’ve loved my time on Strictly and made some great memories. But now I’m completely focused on Dancing With The Stars in Italy and supporting my dance partner Bianca.

Strictly stars shared their support for Giovanni after he shared the ‘relief’ of being cleared of the ‘majority’ of allegations against him (pictured with Anton Du Beke)

‘I am grateful to everyone who has supported me at this time. I honestly don’t know how I would have gotten through this without the love and faith of my family, friends, colleagues and fans.”

In a video shared on Instagram, Giovanni said he was “happy” to hear that not all the “very serious allegations” had been substantiated.

He added, “I’m happy because today I can continue doing what I was born to do, and I love to entertain you all because this is my life.”

Below the post, Strict judges Anton Du Beke and Motsi Mabuse ‘liked’ the post, while Craig Revel Horwood responded with a heart emoji.