Strictly’s Giovanni Pernice admits brutal 18-hour training sessions with no tears allowed amid Amanda Abbington row

STRICTLY Come Dancing star Giovanni Pernice has admitted he thinks being emotionally vulnerable is a “waste of time”.

The pro dancer is currently embroiled in an ongoing feud with his former celebrity partner Amanda Abbington, who has claimed her clashes with him have left her traumatised.

Giovanni told how he is so "obsessed" with being the best dancer and can practise up to 20 hours a day.

Chatting before he was partnered with the actress, the star also said how he believes there is "no point" crying if things don't go well.

Asked how he achieved greatness in dancing, he said: "Practice, pretty much 20 hours a day. The studio is open 24 hours. Well, 18 hours a day, sleep and go back to the studio and practice. Lots of lessons."

Last series he was partnered with the Sherlock and Mr Selfridge star, 51, who has since asked BBC bosses for footage of rehearsals with Giovanni after clashes between the pair.

Amanda made the decision to quit the show – meaning Giovanni also had to pull out.

The dancer, who won Strictly with Rose Ayling Ellis, opened up to Spencer Matthews on his podcast about how he feels about losing.

He explained: "I don’t want to sound cliché, but when you lose, when something doesn’t go the way you want it to go, I am one of those people who gets back up, just like Rocky Balboa, one of my idols, you go down but then you straight away stand up.

"There is no point for me when you lose to cry about those things, you are the person who chooses about your future. Nobody else can do it for you, so you have to find a way to make it better."

Quizzed on whether he ever feels emotionally vulnerable, he said: "I stay away from that, the reason why, I think it’s a waste of time.

"I think vulnerability is good, it’s beautiful but it just doesn’t really make sense in my head, because there is always a solution to do better.

"I have got millions of problems, but I always find a way to make things better, I am not one of these people who cry. So vulnerable is not a word I can use to describe myself.".

Amanda previously opened up about her time on Strictly and told The Sun: "I was diagnosed with mild PTSD after Strictly for several reasons and I told a few people about that, in the utmost confidence, among other things that were happening in my life at the time both professionally and personally.