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Daily Record
Entertainment
Victoria Johns & Siobhan Macdonald

Strictly Come Dancing's Rose Ayling-Ellis replaces partner Giovanni Pernice

Rose Ayling-Ellis has ditched her usual dancing partner Giovanni Pernice for someone else.

The cast are in rehearsals for the Strictly Come Dancing tour, which kicks off tomorrow,

The EastEnders actress, 27, will be back to dancing alongside Giovanni, 31, for the performances.

But in behind the scenes videos from rehearsals she was practising with Bake Off star John Whaite.

During these scenes, host Janette Manrara joked on social media that the cast had "gone mad" as several members had swapped partners are they prepped for opening show.

Tilly Ramsay, who is partnered with Nikita Kuzmin, started practising the Waltz with Johannes Radebe's partner John Whaite.

Rose swapped Giovanni for John Whaites (Instagram)

Then Maisie Smith, who is paired up with Kai Widdrington, danced with The Wanted's Max George, whose pro dance partner is Katya Jones.

A baffled Janette said in a clip: "What is actually happening? The couples have all gone mad. They've all swapped around.

"It's the craziest partner swap ever."

The eagerly-awaited tour starts kicks off in Birmingham after which Strictly fans all over the country will be able to watch their favourite stars in action.

Speaking about Rose, who was the first deaf contestant on the show, choreographer and judge Craig Revel-Horwood told Hello! the star was continuing to have a huge impact on the Strictly brand.

Even Tilly Ramsay had swapped dance partners (Instagram)

He said: "It's fantastic that there will be a BSL signer at every show. This is the way forward. All entertainment should be inclusive in that way and we're really proud that we're doing it."

Craig added: "We're going to be doing Symphony again because that was just amazing. It will be really special, especially seeing it in a huge vast arena where the music is pumping and loud, then suddenly it goes silent. It's going to be awe-inspiring, I can't wait."

Rose's dance partner Giovanni was recently forced to deny rumours the actress had pulled out of the tour.

He said: "It's fantastic that there will be a BSL signer at every show. This is the way forward. All entertainment should be inclusive in that way and we're really proud that we're doing it."

Taking to his Instagram stories he said: "Just a quick message to clarify all the rumours that are going around at the moment.

"Yes, it's true. Rose is not doing the tour at all anymore. So I will be dancing on my own, all day, every day."

However as fans' hearts broke, Rose popped up in the vid, stating: "I'm not going anywhere."

The 33-date tour will visit many major UK cities including Leeds, Newcastle-upon-Tyne, Manchester, Sheffield, Liverpool, Glasgow and Nottingham.

It will conclude in London at the O2 Arena, with five shows on Friday February 11, Saturday February 12 and Sunday February 13

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