This Morning viewers have criticized presenters Craig Doyle and Christine Lampard for interrogating former Strictly Come Dancing professional Giovanni Pernice during an uncomfortable live interview on Tuesday's show.
The 35-year-old Italian dancer appeared on the flagship ITV daytime programme to promote his new book, Taking The Lead, in which he vents his fury at the BBC over its handling of his 2023 clash with actress Amanda Abbington that led to his exit from the show.
Fans vented their anger on social media following the broadcast, calling out the co-hosts for their line of questioning and accusing them of showing clear bias during the tense exchange.
Tense exchange over memoir
During the interview, a frustrated Pernice clashed with Doyle after insisting that his primary objective was not to dredge up past controversy by writing his memoir.
Doyle repeatedly pressed the dancer on Abbington's side of the story throughout the live segment, telling him, "I get it, you want to air your views." Pernice interrupted and firmly responded, "It's the story of my life. It's not a book dedicated to the investigation."
Doyle argued that putting the incident in print made it difficult to move past, saying, "It's hard to move on when you put something like that in the book though." Pernice rebuffed the presenter, stating, "The point of the book is to say thank you to all the people who supported me along the way."
Pernice added that writing down his perspective was preferable to giving multiple media interviews. "Second of all, instead of me going and giving every single possible interview, it was to write it down, what is actually factual and my point of view," he explained. "I played by the rules, I waited until after the investigation finished. It's a part of my memoir, it's a part of my life."
Doyle insisted that the scandal was the specific section of the book driving press coverage, telling him, "But it's the part of the memoir that gets it serialised and you on sofas." Pernice countered that "the aim of the book was not to be sitting on This Morning."
Viewer backlash and social media fury
Viewers quickly expressed their frustration on X, formerly known as Twitter, after the awkward interview aired, criticizing Doyle and Lampard for what they perceived as biased opinions.
One viewer commented, "The presenters on This Morning were clearly very biased towards Amanda Abbington. Uncomfortable viewing. I’d be raging if I was Giovanni Pernice." Another wrote, "Why are the presenters being so hard on Giovanni, YET AGAIN. He's the innocent party in all of this. This Morning should be ashamed of themselves. He's just promoting his book. No-one is interested in Amanda?"
A third social media user posted, "I was shouting at the telly… he was treated very unfairly… I think Craig was really harsh, but I bet he’s being told to say those things, he looked very uncomfortable… I was disgusted." A fourth viewer agreed, writing, "I agree. Christine facial expression, tone and body language was dreadful. Communicating contempt and aggression. It was disgraceful."
The Daily Mail has approached representatives for Doyle and Lampard for comment regarding the reaction to the interview.
Background to the BBC investigation
The controversy stems from an internal BBC investigation into Pernice following 16 total allegations raised after his partnership with Abbington on Strictly Come Dancing in 2023. The corporation upheld six of the allegations while clearing Pernice of ten of the most serious accusations.
During the interview, Pernice reiterated that the BBC did not sack him from the hit dance contest, clarifying instead that his contract was not renewed.
Pernice joined Strictly Come Dancing as a professional dancer in 2015 and won the competition in 2021 with partner Rose Ayling-Ellis. This Morning is ITV's daily magazine show, co-hosted by a rotating team of presenters including Doyle and Lampard.
Questions over training methods
Doyle opened the interview by discussing the rigorous environment of professional dance, noting that "you do develop a relationship when you are training, which is kind of harsh." He asked Pernice how difficult it was when that competitive drive meets showbiz television, "like with Amanda."
Pernice replied, "I always say it depends on what you want to achieve." He explained his experience across multiple series, saying, "Over the years on Strictly I've had nine celebrities, some of them were pushing me 'can we do more?' Some of them just want to do an hour, get paid and go home. It depends who you've got in front of you. Our job is to understand and to try and push them as much as we can."
When Doyle asked specifically about the breakdown of his relationship with Abbington and the allegations, Pernice insisted that he matched "the tone set in the room." He added that he now feels comfortable talking about the tough period because he waited for the BBC investigation to finish and for his mental health to recover.
Doyle pressed further, telling Pernice, "I appreciate it was a tough time but it was also a tough time for Amanda. She wouldn't have gone through with the whole process, let's be honest, unless she felt there was something in it." He added, "She also got a payout and she's saying now that you're kind of underplaying things. She's seeing this situation very, very differently than you."
Pernice responded that he has "spoken facts, this is what was upheld, this is what was not upheld." When Doyle interrupted to ask if he could reflect on the complaints that were upheld and whether he saw what he did wrong, Pernice declined to justify himself.
"I'm not here to justify myself, my life moved on, I'm happy now," Pernice said. "I went to Italy, I won the same show in a different country. I did have my small revenges in life, and now I've got a new girlfriend who makes me very happy."
Amanda Abbington statement
During the broadcast, Lampard read out a statement provided by Abbington's spokesman addressing Pernice's recent public statements.
The statement read, "In the past fortnight Mr Pernice has persisted in trying to reframe the BBC Investigation and the findings that it made against him. To suggest he has not been given the chance to give his side of the story is ludicrous given the thorough investigation conducted by the BBC which he was a part of, but - unsurprisingly - seems unhappy with the outcome."
The spokesman added, "To suggest that the findings against him related only to use of swear words is also wrong, but both parties were asked to keep the contents of the Investigation Report confidential. Following the investigation the BBC apologised to me and paid me substantial compensation: that speaks for itself."
Moving forward in Italy
Lampard asked Pernice if he had changed his coaching approach while competing on the Italian version of the show, Ballando con le Stelle, which he won in 2024 alongside his now-girlfriend Bianca Guaccero.
Pernice tersely replied, "You asked me the same question last time we did an interview. And I will answer the same way." He reiterated that he saw no need to revise his training methods, stating, "if you want to succeed, there is only one way to succeed. Commitment, resilience, get a trophy, go home."
He noted, "That's what it is. I demonstrate this doing the same job in a different country and winning and we came in second last year." He added that while an approach can change, that cannot happen if he believes everything in the room is going perfectly.
Concluding his remarks, Pernice stated that he holds no ill will toward his former dance partner. "Honestly, I haven't got any bad feeling towards Amanda. I think she wants to move forward, I have moved forward a long time ago," he said. "As she said, we're supposed to keep everything private and confidential. This is my first interview after two years."
