BBC Strictly Come Dancing's Giovanni Pernice flooded with support as he shares personal update

Giovanni Pernice was flooded with messages of support as he marked a special update. The professional dancer will not be part of the lineup of the latest season of Strictly Come Dancing when it gets underway this month.

However, the dancer still keeps fans regulalry updated with his life away from the screen on Instagram. He has taken to the social media platform to reveal he is celebrating his 34th birthday today. He told his 1.1m followers: "30+4 today!

Thank you so much to all of you for the messages.. I do appreciate your love and your endless support! Better days to come and exciting news to share with you very soon. Love you all Gio."

People took to the comments to wish Giovanni well on his birthday. Jean said: "Sending you love on your birthday Giovanni and looking forward to your return to both our screens and our theatres. May you have a wonderful time with your family"

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Pearl commented: "Happy birthday fabulous Gio, look forward to hearing your news " Jo added: "Happy birthday Gio have a wonderful day."

Giovanni issued a statement in June to deny accusations of alleged "threatening and abusive" behaviour and confirmed he is co-operating with an internal BBC investigation. He said: "To my fans and followers, every week, there are totally untrue stories about me in the media.

"As you know, I have always rejected any suggestion of abusive or threatening behaviour. The latest accusations are simply false. I am cooperating fully with the ongoing BBC investigation, which will determine the truth.

"As requested, I have stayed silent, but I am looking forward to the conclusion of the investigation and ultimately clearing my name and establishing the truth. I am so happy to be back on tour.

"Thank you all for your continued support – you messages and love mean so very much to me. I will hopefully see many of you very soon and I look forward to clearing my name. With love, Giovanni."

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Giovanni has just completed a tour with Strictly co-star Anton Du Beke. The tour came to Merseyside in July when they performed at the New Brighton Pavilion.

The ECHO was in attendance at the sold show as the two performed a series of dance routines for the performance, which was titled Together. The performances were broken up by a series of talking comedy skits.

Giovanni attempted his best Merseyside accent to say some common phrases as he said: "I'm telling you. I can carry on for the whole show like this." The professional won over the watching crowd with his best Merseyside impression and Anton was in disbelief by the cheers.

He said: "It's going to be a beauty tonight, we're having a lock in." Giovanni was unfamiliar with the phrase, which prompted a baffled response from Anton. The judge continued the joke that his co-star was from Wirral as he said: "You don't know what a lock in is?

"You come from these parts and you don't know what a lock in is. I'm stunned." In their final address to the crowd, Giovanni vowed to soon return to Merseyside.

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