Giovanni Pernice has shared a selfie with Kristina Rihanoff after she defended him when he got the chop from Strictly Come Dancing.
In news which sent shockwaves through the showbiz industry, it was announced that Giovanni, 33, would not be part of the Strictly class of 2024 amid an investigation into his 'threatening' behaviour in the training room - which he denies.
Many of the Strictly stars have stayed silent on the matter, with reports the current cast of the show have been 'banned' from talking about the controversy. However, Kristina, who was on the show from 2008 to 2015, stood up for the Sicilian, saying his absence from the series would be a 'sad loss'.
Giovanni, who is currently on tour with Strictly judge, Anton Du Beke, has now returned the favour and invited the Russian dancer, 46, and her daughter Mila, who she shares with rugby player, Ben Cohen, backstage of his sequin-strewn show, Together.
Captioning the snap, in which Kristina and her daughter grin alongside Giovanni and Anton, the Russian ballroom dancer wrote: "Back from an absolute gem of a Theatre experience - @giovannipernice & @mrantondubeke show by @strictlytheatreco Together.
"Outstanding production, dancing, singing, humour and banter plus a beautiful voice & performance by @laurenmayoakley! If you have a chance to go see it please do! It truly is amazing! Mila and I had a blast."
Last month, Kristina spoke out in support of Giovanni when it was revealed he would not be taking part in the new series of Strictly. Appearing on This Morning, she said: "The news, I'm very saddened because I think when you lose one of the best choreographers and dancers on the show, as a professional dancer, I can say that it is very sad as he produced some very memorable dances and took quite a few of his celebrity partners through to the final. So from a professional point of view, I think the show will lose a wonderful dancer and choreographer."
She continued: "I'm not here to defend or offend anyone, I'm just here to say what I know of Giovanni and my time with him on the show. I think it is sad that someone like Giovanni isn't going to be there, I personally always looked forward to his choreography because that's what I appreciate. I think, like I said before, he produced some beautiful dances and it's always exciting to watch what he would choreograph. For me, personally, I think the whole situation is very sad."
Kristina added of previously working with the Italian: "I think from the point of view when he worked on the show with me and we danced in some group numbers, he was always a very nice, easy going guy, who was just there to do his job."
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