Giovanni Pernice has delighted fans with news of his 'new' Strictly Come Dancing partnership for a semi final performance.
While this year's Strictly final is fast approaching, with less than two weeks to go now, Giovanni is still the reigning champion, having lifted the Glitterball trophy alongside EastEnders star Rose Ayling-Ellis 12 months ago. Giovanni has been a big fan favourite on the BBC show since joining the ranks seven years ago, reaching the final with Georgia May Foote, Debbie McGee and Faye Tozer, before eventually tasting victory with Rose in 2021.
So it came as big surprise that he only lasted a few weeks in the competition this year with latest celebrity partner Richie Anderson. A few weeks after landing a great score for their Quickstep, Giovanni and Richie landed in the dance-off and were then sent packing by the judges, in the second elimination of the series.
READ MORE: Helen Skelton facing 'gruelling' week before Strictly semi final
Giovanni has still been a regular on the show this year, appearing in group numbers and in the audience and he had some exciting news on Monday night when he shared the news on Instagram that he will be pairing up with Katya Jones for a performance this weekend. Giovanni reposted a video of the two in rehearsals that Katya had uploaded to her own story, with the caption: "Guess who's dancing together again this weekend?"
Katya lasted longer in the competition than Giovanni, with her and former Arsenal defender Tony Adams even tipped to win at one point, before he withdrew due to injury after landing in the bottom two.
Just like last week's quarter final, the Strictly semi final has been shunted from its usual Saturday night slot, to allow the BBC to show the World Cup quarter final. And in a rather unwanted first for the long-running show, its results show have been pushed back to Monday.
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