Celebrity Hunted stars Kai Widdrington and Giovanni Pernice have revealed why they teamed up as fugitives for the Channel 4 reality show.
On Sunday, 5 January’s opening episode of the series, which is raising money for Stand Up to Cancer, the professional dancers were one of six partnerships to disembark a train in the middle of nowhere after Denise Welch pulled the Emergency Stop chord, thus kickstarting this year’s hunt.
In a pre-recorded talking head interview that intermixed with frantic on-the-run footage, Pernice joked that his Strictly Come Dancing and Anton & Giovanni’s Adventures colleague Anton Du Beke wasn’t available at the time of filming, hence Widdrington’s presence.
“Why did we choose each other to go on the run together?” Widdrington contemplated.
Pernice, whose behind-the-scenes bullying scandal cost him his place on the Strictly pro team in 2024, went on to quip: “Simple question… Anton was unavailable!”
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Meanwhile, one of the hunters back at HQ told The Chief: “Giovanni and Kai are on Strictly Come Dancing. They’re both used to supporting their partners, that is what they do as dancers so together they are actually quite formidable.”
Widdrington also claimed to the cameras that he and Pernice can “absolutely” conquer the Celebrity Hunted format, as they’re “two of the most competitive people” on the planet.
For clarification, this series of Celebrity Hunted was filmed before the Sicilian’s Strictly departure.
Anton & Giovanni’s Adventures consists of two three-episode series, with the pair traversing the splendour of both Spain and Sicily.
Adventures in Spain and Sicily are available to stream over on BBC iPlayer now, where viewers can enjoy their trips to Mount Etna, Pernice’s hometown of Palermo, Costa Blanca and Seville.
The episodes are all just under one hour in duration.
Celebrity Hunted airs on Channel 4 and 4OD.
