Amy Dowden will return to the show as the pro lineup is confirmed
The pro dancer's name was missing from the Strictly 2024 line-up shared today, which sees Tess Daly and Claudia Winkleman back to present and Craig Revel Horwood, Shirley Ballas, Motsi Mabuse and Anton du Beke returning as judges.
Pernice is the only star not to return for this year's series, with his name missing from the list of dancers.
No new dancers are joining the show, but the 2024 series will see the return of long-standing cast member Amy Dowden, who took a break last year after being diagnosed and receiving treatment for breast cancer.
The professional dancer list for 2024 reads as: Dianne Buswell, Nadiya Bychkova, Graziano Di Prima, Amy Dowden, Karen Hauer, Katya Jones, Neil Jones, Nikita Kuzmin, Gorka Márquez, Luba Mushtuk, Jowita Przystał, Johannes Radebe, Kai Widdrington, Nancy Xu, Carlos Gu, Lauren Oakley, Michelle Tsiakkas and Vito Coppola.
Pernice's future on the show was called into question after reports of an internal inquiry at the BBC following complaints of his behaviour during show training.
The Strictly star responded to the allegations in an Instagram post at the time rejecting "any suggestion of abusive or threatening behaviour".
"No one is more ambitious for my dance partners than me. I have always striven to help them be the very best dancers they can be," he added.
"This has always come from a place of love and wanting to win – for me and my dance partners."
Pernice appeared in the 2023 series with Sherlock star Amanda Abbington, who quit the show mid-season for "personal reasons".
While Abbington has since spoken about having difficulty on Strictly, Pernice has declined to comment on their partnership other than in a statement released after her exit.
Posted: Tue Jun 11, 2024 12:35 am