Aljaz Skorjanec announces his return to Strictly Come Dancing in hopes to 'make baby daughter Lyra proud' after Giovanni Pernice's shock exit

Aljaž Škorjanec announced his return to Strictly Come Dancing on Monday after it was confirmed that Giovanni Pernice would not be rejoining the lineup. The professional dancer, 34, who welcomed a daughter Lyra with his partner Janette Manrara in July last year, said he hoped to make the one-year-old proud following his two year hiatus from the BBC show. Aljaž Škorjanec announced his return to Strictly Come Dancing on Monday after it was confirmed that Giovanni Pernice would not be rejoining the lineup Speaking on the show, he said: 'What haven't I missed. The professional dancer, 34, who welcomed a daughter Lyra with his partner Janette Manrara in July last year, said he hoped to make the one-year-old proud following his two year hiatus Giovanni, 33, left the programme last month in a scandal after he was accused of exhibiting 'threatening and abusive' behaviour towards his celebrity dance partners She added: 'During his nine series he was a firm favourite with viewers across the country, I’m sure everyone is in for a treat as he joins us to entertain the nation for a very special 20th year of the show.' Giovanni has faced a wave of scrutiny ever since Amanda Abbington dramatically quit last year In 2016, former Love Island host Laura Whitmore said she 'cried every day' and felt 'uncomfortable' while training with him Good Morning Britain presenter Ranvir Singh also complained about Giovanni to producers back in 2020, during their time on the show Former partners have also come out to back him, including Debbie McGee, the widow of the magician Paul Daniels, who was paired with him in 2017 He said in a statement: 'You will be as surprised as I am that allegations have been made about my dance teaching methods in the media this week.