Girls Aloud star Nicola Roberts once spoke out about her experience dancing with Giovanni Pernice, during her time on Strictly.
The 38-year-old took part in the Strictly Christmas special back in 2022. She was paired up with Gio at the time.
Nicola Roberts on Strictly experience with Giovanni Pernice
Back in 2022, Nicola took part in the Strictly Christmas special with Giovanni. Together, they performed a waltz to Silent Night.
The judges awarded them 39 points for their performance. However, it wasn’t enough – as they were tipped to the Christmas trophy by Corrie star Alexandra Mardell.
Speaking on The One Show before her Strictly stint, Nicola revealed that she’d found the process quite difficult.
“My process is quite slow,” she confessed at the time. “When you’re in a band you have weeks to perfect a two-hour show, so there’ll be certain numbers that you pick up quickly or the numbers that might take a good couple of weeks to really sink in, and that’s my process, that’s how I’ve learned over the years.”
Nicola Roberts wanted to ‘strangle’ Strictly star Giovanni Pernice
Nicola then continued. “I was beating myself up and not understanding the routine, not grasping the technical aspects, and the position is still not there every time and it’s a lot to think about so it’s been very fast but I like to be professional and I like to do a good job.
“Gio is a great teacher – he’s a perfectionist – as am I,” she then said. “The waltz is so technical and its so different to anything I’ve done before.”
She then said: “I don’t necessarily like the learning process because I lose concentration and Gio is very ‘again, again, again.’ But I was grateful because when I finally got to do the waltz I was prepared.
“And as much as during the rehearsal process I might have wanted to strangle him, I was glad that when I left the ballroom I thought I had done a good job of the waltz,” she then added.
BBC supporting Gio amid Amanda Abbington PTSD claims
In the wake of claims that Amanda Abbington developed PTSD from her time with Gio on Strictly, there has been plenty of speculation about the Italian dancer’s future on the show.
However, it seems as though his place on the show is secure. The BBC is reportedly supporting the 33-year-old following the Amanda fallout.
“It’s no secret Gio and Amanda had a tricky relationship — but there are two sides to every story,” a source told The Sun this week.
“Bosses arranged a call between his management and show execs to discuss recent coverage and make sure he was OK as obviously he’s faced a hell of a lot of stick over the past couple of months,” they then continued.
“The feeling is he is a tough taskmaster, but hasn’t bullied or abused anyone. The BBC sees him as a key face of Strictly and will do all they can to support him,” they then added.
Read more: Every sign Amanda Abbington and Giovanni Pernice’s Strictly partnership was doomed from the start
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