Giovanni Pernice gave a supportive message to Richie Anderson as their Strictly Come Dancing performance ended on Saturday night, days after it was reported there was backstage 'tension' between the pair.
After winning Strictly last year with Rose Ayling-Ellis, Giovanni has been paired with Radio 2 and One Show star Richie in one of two same-sex pairings for the new series. The two gave a very entertaining debut in the first live show, performing an energetic cha ch cha to Wham classic I'm Your Man. However, while both looked like were having a ball on the dancefloor, claims then surfaced that there was 'tension' between them behind the scenes, with sources saying they 'hadn't clicked.'
Richie heaped praise on Giovanni in a glowing Instagram post, with the Italian pro dancer then shutting down the rumours during an appearance on It Takes Two. And Giovanni looked to be full of admiration for his celeb partner as the duo delivered a fantastic quickstep routine to Dancing Fool on Saturday's Strictly.
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The judges were unanimous in positive feedback for Richie and Giovanni, with their critiques coming after fans watching at home heard Giovanni giving Richie his seal of approval as the music ended. The closing moments of their performance saw the pair in sync with each other as they danced with canes before Giovanni punched the air in celebration and shouted: "Well done! Well done!" And giving a touching reply, Richie told Giovanni: "I love you so much."
Richie and Giovanni scored a much improved 32 out of 40 for their quickstep, sending them straight to the top of the leaderboard and viewers at home were bowled over by their performance. One took to Twitter to react: "Wow that was pure entertainment. What a pleasant surprise. The hard work paid off. Well done to Richie and Giovanni," while, praising Giovanni's teaching, a second tweeted: "Giovanni once again showing why he's the best teacher and choreographer on #Strictly! Another pro would see Richie only as comedy act... not Giovanni."
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