Giovanni Pernice has revealed he doesn't want his Strictly Come Dancing journey to come to an end for "the first time" this year following his "fantastic" partnership with EastEnders actress, Rose Ayling-Ellis.
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The professional dancer, who was chatting with Rylan Clark alongside his dance partner at this week's Strictly finalist's press conference, opened up about their incredible time on the show when he made the comment.
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Giovanni told HELLO! and other reporters: "I might be the dance teacher but for me the highlight has been spending every single day in the studio with Rose because the positivity and the happiness that I had every single day four fourteen weeks has been joyful.
"It's the first time I don't want [the show] to finish! But I think with Rose it's just been lovely, she really wanted to learn the dance and the way she really wanted to get the dance right for Saturday night, it's fantastic, it's rewarding."
The dancer continued: "I think it's quite remarkable watching and sometimes I watch it back and I completely forget she's deaf because the way she dances, it's like a professional. So I'm a very proud teacher but more than anything I'm happy I've found a fantastic friend for life for sure."
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© Photo: BBCGiovanni and Rose are hoping to lift the Glitterball trophy this weekend
Rose, who has wowed both judges and viewers each week with routines in the BBC ballroom competition, also opened up about her time working with Giovanni.
She explained: "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."
Rose and Giovanni are taking to the floor this weekend to perform three dances in the hope of being crowned champions of Strictly Come Dancing 2021. The pair are set to do their Quickstep and Couple's Choice dance, as well as perform a lyrical Show Dance.
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