Giovanni Pernice accused of calling an epileptic man a 's*****c'

Giovanni Pernice allegedly called a colleague with epilepsy a shocking slur -but the BBC dismissed the complaint because it occurred on his Made in Italy tour.

The stage worker went to the BBC after hearing it was investigating Amanda Abbington's claims against the ex Strictly star.

But the corporation refused to look into it as it related to 'conduct outside of his engagement with the BBC'.

The former Made in Italy worker said this was 'disappointing' and he didn't feel comfortable speaking out at the time because he needed his job.

A spokesperson for Mr Pernice slammed the allegation as a 'smear campaign'.

The worker, who claimed Mr Pernice used the word 's*****c' told The Sun: 'I felt Giovanni thought what he said was funny.

'My allegation added weight to Amanda's. It's disappointing they didn't want to listen.'

A spokesperson for Mr Pernice told the newspaper the allegation is 'upsetting' as the pair had a 'positive friendship on the tour'. 

They went on to discard it as a 'smear campaign' because of the 'alarming' timing.

Strictly Theatre Company's tour manager Gary Alce said the two were often 'laughing and joking' but nothing 'crossed the line'.

''When you are on a long theatre tour like Made in Italy, everyone becomes very close. We work together every day to ensure the show is a success every night.

'Everyone in our industry will know that there is a lot of hard work, and a fair bit of friendly banter, especially amongst the crew.

'The person making these allegations was absolutely part of that. In fact, they shared a very close relationship with Giovanni.

'The pair of them were often laughing and joking around for everyone to see, calling each other names, but nothing ever crossed the line.

'The person who is making these allegations suffered very badly from epilepsy which we were unaware of when we hired him. This stopped them being able to do the primary job they were hired for due to very serious safety concerns.

'Giovanni went out of his way to ensure that this person continued to work with us, both on the Made in Italy Tour, as well as his future tours.

'When the tour ended, we offered this person another job on one of our tours, and would have been delighted to have them back with us.'

It comes after Ms Abbington claimed that Mr Pernice called her a 'vegetable' during training after meeting her fiance, who is using a wheelchair.

Mr Pernice said the comment was made about his dance partner's body posture and Ms Abbington's bullying allegation in regard to the vegetable comment was not upheld by the BBC.

The actress, 50, left the BBC show during week six in October last year, later accusing her Strictly partner Mr Pernice of inappropriate conduct.

The former Strictly professional was cleared of the majority of allegations made against him by the star.

A six-month BBC probe into Mr Pernice came to an end on Monday, with the findings clearing the dancer of the majority of threatening and physically abusive behaviour claims.

Mr Pernice, 34, said he was 'pleased' following the end of the probe, which found in his favour on all but six of the 17 allegations made by Ms Abbington.

After Ms Abbington's abrupt show exit, she accused Mr Pernice of 'mean' and 'cruel' behaviour.

Despite BBC bosses finding that Mr Pernice was not threatening or physically abusive, it did uphold some of her complaints of verbal bullying and harassment.

The BBC also agreed with Ms Abbington that at times he appeared to be giving her overly negative feedback.

A spokeswoman for the professional dancer told MailOnline: 'The BBC concluded its review almost a week ago.

'It is deeply concerning that Ms Abbington appears to be hellbent on continuously misrepresenting the review's findings in TV and newspaper interviews.

'Giovanni is focusing on his job on Ballando con le Stella and supporting his partner Bianca, and hopes that Ms Abbington can soon accept the review's findings and look to the future.'

Ms Abbington said: 'Despite this vile abuse, I've never regretted coming forward, and today's apology from the BBC is a vindication of my complaint.

'It's not just a vindication for me, it's a vindication for the other people who have contacted me since I made my complaint to express concerns about their own experiences on Strictly Come Dancing.

'I hope those who have felt unable to speak out now will be more confident that they will be listened to and believed.'

Ms Abbington added: 'This apology means a great deal to me. So too does the fact that the BBC have acknowledged the steps that were put in place to support and protect me and past contestants were 'not enough'.

'What matters most now is that lessons have been learned and that the BBC makes the changes they've promised, to ensure others don't experience the same ordeal that I and others like me did.'

Mr Pernice quit Strictly last April after the BBC said it was launching the inquiry. He had been offered a new contract to star in the 2024 series - the 20th anniversary - and was set to sign it.

He is currently appearing on the Italian version of the show, Ballando con le Stelle, in which he is partnered with singer and actress Bianca Guaccero.