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Giovanni Pernice© BBC

Giovanni Pernice drops major hint on his new Strictly dance partner

 Strictly Come Dancing is likely to return to our screens in September

Sharnaz Shahid
Deputy Online Editor
August 18, 2023
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Giovanni Pernice has seemingly dropped a major clue over which of this year's celebrities he will be teaming up with on Strictly Come Dancing

The 32-year-old, who won the 2021 series with Rose Ayling-Ellis, raised eyebrows this week when he started to follow two of the celebs from the new line-up on his Instagram account.

WATCH: Can you name BBC's Strictly Come Dancing previous winners?

Among his new list of followers are actress Amanda Abbington and former Love Island star Zara McDermott. 

The two stars join the likes of Les Dennis, Krishnan Guru-Murthy, Angela Scanlon and Angela Rippon in the 2023 line-up of contestants. The show is set to kick off in the autumn, with Tess Daly and Claudia Winkleman at the helm as hosts. 

Meanwhile, Giovanni's appearance on Strictly was recently left in doubt after he injured his ankle while on tour with Anton Du Beke. 

Speaking about his injury in a video last month, he explained: "As you probably know I'm on tour at the moment with Anton, and doing one of the dances I did twist my ankle on stage. I have just been to the doctor, to the physio, and he advised me to rest for a few weeks."

The pro dancer also revealed that he would not be as prominent in the upcoming series of Strictly Come Dancing, missing some of the group performances. 

Zara McDermott headshot for Strictly© BBC
Zara McDermott is joining Strictly Come Dancing

"I will still be there to entertain you with my other half Anton Du Beke. We will be singing along but unfortunately Anton will do the dancing bit," he said about their tour. 

Amanda Abbington on Lorraine looking emotional© Ken McKay/ITV/Shutterstock
Amanda Abbington will also be joining the show

"This also means that I am going to miss a few of the Strictly professional group numbers, but I just need to give some rest to my ankle and come back stronger than ever for the upcoming series of Strictly Come Dancing - which I'm really looking forward to."

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