Lauren Oakley and Giovanni Pernice
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Concerns Lauren Oakley could face Strictly axe after her friendship with Giovanni Pernice questioned

Fans shared their concerns

Strictly fans recently expressed their worry that Lauren Oakley could get the chop due to her friendship with Giovanni Pernice.

Italian dancer Giovanni is currently embroiled in an ongoing investigation over his alleged behaviour on the BBC One show. He recently denied allegations of “abusive or threatening behaviour”. It was also recently confirmed that he is not coming back for this year’s series.

But in May, fans shared their worries that Strictly dancer Lauren – who is on Pointless Celebrities this weekend (July 27) – could be axed after she failed to cut ties with Giovanni, and even headed on tour with him.

Giovanni Pernice and Strictly co-star Lauren Oakley
Lauren and Giovanni are good pals (Credit: YouTube)

Strictly star and pal Giovanni Pernice

This year, Giovanni headed on the road for his jaw-dropping show, Let Me Entertain You. Brummie dancer and Strictly star Lauren also featured in the show.

Lauren joined Strictly back in 2022 – and last year was the first year she appeared with a celebrity partner. She danced alongside Channel 4 broadcaster Krishnan Guru-Murthy and came in eighth place.

Lauren has since been confirmed to return for this year’s series. But amid Giovanni’s turbulent Strictly aftermath, and with the investigation ongoing, fans voiced concerns that Strictly bosses could let Lauren go.

Lauren Oakley smiling on It Takes Two (Credit: BBC/Composite: ED!)
Lauren joined the show back in 2022 (Credit: BBC)

Strictly fans fear pro could get axed amid Giovanni scandal

On a Reddit thread, one fan spoke about Lauren’s future being at risk. They said: “I really hope this doesn’t negatively impact Lauren somehow – he’s her boss on his tour, but she’s so amazing.

“I’d hate if her Strictly career were to be cut short due to this.”

Someone else added: “Yes, me too. She’s already signed up to dance with him and Anton shortly on their tour, but presumably won’t do his tour again.”

Meanwhile on Facebook, a third fan reacted to fears of Lauren’s axe. They wrote: “She’s entitled to show her support but that won’t matter to the woke biased BBC unfortunately.”

Giovanni and girlfriend ‘split’

In other Giovanni news, it was recently claimed he has split with his model girlfriend, Molly Brown.

Giovanni and Molly went public with their romance in February, before reports emerged that they had split just weeks later. The couple later reunited and their relationship looked to be going strong ever since.

However, it looks like things have changed dramatically once again, as reports claim “stress” has torn the couple apart.

A source alleged to The Mirror: “Giovanni and Molly grew very close, very quickly, after they split up the first time and got back together. Their relationship has been pretty full-on. But they have rowed again recently and it all came to a head earlier this week, when they called it quits.”

Watch Lauren on Pointless Celebrities on Saturday (July 27) at 7:20pm on BBC Two.

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Read more: Strictly hosts Tess and Claudia ‘to open 2024 series with apology to celebs’ following alleged misconduct

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Joey Crutchley
Freelance Writer