They reached the Strictly Come Dancing finals in 2017, so it comes as no surprise that Giovanni Pernice and Debbie McGee have remained close. Last year, Debbie surprised fans after she revealed her diagnosis with breast cancer - and Giovanni has since revealed he was on hand to support his friend. Speaking to HELLO! in March 2019, the professional dancer touched on Debbie's health, saying: "She came to watch my show on the West End last week and she is fine. She is now absolutely fine."
© Photo: Getty ImagesGiovanni Pernice and Debbie McGee reached the Strictly finals in 2017
"I spoke to her and everything is under control," he added. "She goes to the doctor every single week. Everything is sorted and she is much better now." In a previous interview with The Sun, Debbie confessed that her grief for late husband Paul Daniels may have triggered the cancer and that going through treatment without him had been extremely hard. She told the publication: "Stress, I think caused mine. I've never been through the stress I’ve been through since I lost Paul."
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"Grief hits you in so many ways you’re not expecting," she continued. "It's not all about sadness. I’ve got a friend who lost her husband four years ago. She's younger than me but she got it (cancer) as well. We both discussed it and said stress." Despite the diagnosis, Debbie has been showing her support to Giovanni, when he was on his Dance Is Life tour with fellow Strictly pros Luba Mushtuk and Trent Whiddon in 2019. "Debbie came to dance with me in a couple of shows," revealed Giovanni. "But for more other tours I'm not sure. Maybe one year I will just do another with my former celebrity partners - like reunion."
Debbie has a new podcast called Spill the Tea with Debbie McGee
The pro dancer has had a busy few years with various tours including one with his "best friends" Gorka Marquez and Aljaz Skorjanec for their Here Come The Boys tour. He also teamed up with Invisalign to get treatment on his teeth - something he wanted to "perfect". Opening up about the work he got done, he explained: "It's just because I didn't like my teeth before. Since I am Italian and I am a perfectionist, I just like everything to be perfect and now I've got my teeth perfect." He added: "In the meantime I think it is the best thing to wear because people can't really see, and it's really comfortable." Giovanni is having Invisalign treatment with Michael Frankl at Lotus Dental in North London. For more information and to find your local provider please visit invisalign.co.uk.
READ: Debbie McGee on finding love again after husband Paul Daniels' death
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