Giovanni Pernice has admitted he'd be "quite jealous" if his Strictly Come Dancing partner, Rose Ayling-Ellis, was dancing with another professional in the ballroom competition.
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The pro-dancer, who is gearing up for this weekend's grand finale alongside the EastEnders actress, was chatting to Rylan Clark at the finalist's press conference about his journey with Rose when he made the comment.
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"It's been a fantastic journey, she's developed a lot as a dancer, but yeah it's been lovely," he told HELLO! and other reporters during the virtual event. "I always say I'm the one privileged to do this journey with Rose, if she was doing it with someone else I'd be quite jealous. Big time."
Rose also opened up about her Strictly experience dancing alongside Giovanni, explaining she knew the pair would get on well. "I knew we were going to be a good team. One thing I really liked about Gio is his track record [laughs]! And then I realised he was funny and we have a similar sense of humour. He's a very good teacher but he can have fun. It's been better than I ever thought it was going to be," she said.
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Rose and Giovanni are hoping to be crowned champions this weekend
Meanwhile, Giovanni also described dancing with Rose as his best experience on the show yet. On how viewers have seen "another side" to him since teaming up with the soap star, Giovanni explained to Zoe Ball on the BBC Radio 2 Breakfast show: "I think it's been a fantastic experience, I think it's been the best I have had in the Strictly experience for sure.
"Rose is quite a determined person as well, she really wants to learn how to dance. We're having fun and I think the reason I think I'm different is because I'm more relaxed."
The pair are hoping to win big this weekend in the series finale of Strictly. They will be performing their quickstep, which was the judges' choice, their Couple's Choice dance, and will perform a showdance in the hope of lifting the iconic Glitterball trophy.
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