Shirley 'told to rein it in' on Gio talk

Strictly bosses' fury over judge's comments

- TOM BRYANT

BBC bosses have ordered Strictly head judge Shirley Ballas to stop talking about Giovanni Pernice's bullying and abusive behaviour case.

They were said to be angry she spoke about Gio while promoting her new book, due to the nature of the claims against the ex-Strictly pro.

A source said: "Shirley has been told she needs to rein it in and not talk about Giovanni in the context of the case.

"It's such a complex thing that we can't have people associated with the show speaking out about it."

The Mirror reported how at one public talk, Shirley said she had never seen anything untoward occur and told how the "truth will come out".