BBC Strictly's Anton Du Beke offers clue on Giovanni Pernice's future after show exit

Anton Du Beke appears to be holding firm on his plans to tour with Giovanni Pernice after the BBC confirmed the dancer would not be returning to the Strictly Come Dancing stage this year. The line-up for the dance show was unveiled on Monday, with the 2024 roster missing Giovanni's name.

As the show gears up to celebrate its 20th anniversary, fans were eager to see which professional stars would return. Last season saw Ellie Leach and Vito Coppola clinch the glitterball trophy, although the series faced some turbulence due to Amanda Abbington's reported feud with Giovanni.

Yet, despite the swirling whispers about Giovanni, aged 33, Anton, who is 57, is all set to embark on a UK tour with the Italian dancer. Their 'Together' tour is kicking off imminently, and Anton's recent social media activity indicates that the show will go on.

He showed his support by liking a post from the tour's official Instagram account, which featured a snap of the duo in high spirits, captioned: "6 more days until Opening! ! ! The countdown begins! ! ! TOGETHER TOUR 2024." (sic)

This year, Strictly will see fan favourite Amy Dowden return to the line-up following her brave battle with breast cancer.

Other returning favourites include Dianne Buswell, Nadiya Bychkova, Graziano Di Prima, Amy Dowden, Karen Hauer, Katya Jones, Neil Jones, Nikita Kuzmin and Gorka Marquez.

Joining them are Luba Mushtuk, Jowita Przystal, Johannes Radebe, Kai Widdrington, Nancy Xu, Carlos Gu, Lauren Oakley, Michelle Tsiakkas and Vito Coppola.

Despite being a long-standing fixture of the show, fans may have noticed that Giovanni's name is conspicuously absent from the line-up for Strictly Come Dancing's next series.

Confirming he won't be returning amidst allegations made by Amanda and several other former Strictly co-stars, the BBC has yet to issue an official statement about Giovanni's departure.

Having dedicated eight years to the popular BBC programme, Giovanni has carved out an illustrious career on the dance floor.

He took home the glitter ball trophy in Series 19 partnered with EastEnders actress Rose Ayling-Ellis, reached runner-up status in his debut series alongside Coronation Street star Georgia May Foote, and also secured second place in Series 15 and 16 with Debbie McGee and Faye Tozer respectively.

However, his luck ran out in Series 20 when he and partner Richie Anderson ranked in 14th place.

Earlier this year, Giovanni finally addressed Amanda's abrupt exit from the show whilst speaking with The Mirror.

Admitting his high standards during an interview on the Invite Only podcast, Giovanni said: "I am a perfectionist, 100%, but it comes from a perspective of caring.

"I think all of the professional dancers are in the same place. In every single part of the world , if you're a professional dancer on one of these shows, you have to get these people looking the best they can on Saturday night. And if we have good scores at the end, I do look back and say, 'I've done a great job'.

"But we all care about our partners and we want that for them every single week to look great on a Saturday. There's no specific way that you are, or have to be with your celebrity. You make the most of their strengths so the only thing that's constant is the fact that you have to do a show on Saturday night."

Anton - who also appeared on the podcast - added: "I thought you and Amanda were marvellous. I thought you were terrific. I remember a few years ago, Kelvin Fletcher came in and danced in week one, and it was amazing.

"As a judge, you sit there and you don't know what it's going to be like. And then you go, like, 'Stone the crows, that was rather good'. And you're a bit overwhelmed by it because normally, it takes a little bit of time. But Kelvin was terrific straight away. And I thought Amanda was the same. She was terrific straight away."