Gorka Marquez addresses Giovanni Pernice's Strictly Come Dancing exit

Gorka Marquez has broken his silence on Giovanni Pernice's departure from Strictly Come Dancing.

During an appearance on Good Morning Britain on Tuesday, the Spanish professional was asked about his fellow dancer's exit amid claims about his alleged behaviour and teaching methods.

When presenter Susanna Reid asked how losing a dancer affects the Strictly family, Gorka replied, "I think it's like when Aljaz (Skorjanec) left and when Oti (Mabuse) left or when Anton (du Beke) decided to go to the judge role, everybody's missed."

He continued, "Everybody is a big part of the show so when someone decides to leave or change their careers, it's sad for everybody."

Gorka confirmed that he sometimes speaks to Giovanni, before adding, "Obviously he's so busy, he's on tour with Anton, so yeah."

He appeared on the show with Karen Hauer, Strictly's longest-serving professional, to promote their Speakeasy live show, which goes on tour in February 2025.

They will both be back on Strictly later this year alongside the likes of Dianne Buswell, Graziano Di Prima, Katya Jones, Neil Jones, Nikita Kuzmin, Johannes Radebe, Kai Widdrington, Nancy Xu and last year's champion Vito Coppola, among others.

Giovanni's exit was confirmed earlier this month when his name did not appear on the professional dancer line-up.

The Italian dancer, who had been on the show since 2015, has rejected "any suggestion of abusive or threatening behaviour".

He recently told his Instagram followers that he was "co-operating fully" with the BBC's ongoing investigation and "looking forward" to "clearing (his) name and establishing the truth".