Strictly fans can barely hold their affection towards star Giovanni Pernice after he’s seemingly paid ‘tribute’ to his former dance partner Rose Ayling-Ellis.
Strictly Come Dancing returned to our screens on September 23 2022. While new pro dancers graced the infamous ballroom, old favourites made a comeback, too. 32-year-old Italian Giovanni was one of those returning favourites.
Last year, he and EastEnders actress Rose won the show, beating rival couple John Whaite and Johannes Radebe.
While John and Johannes were the first male same-sex couple to compete on the show, Rose was Strictly’s first deaf contestant.
Giovanni Pernice pays ‘tribute’ to former Strictly partner Rose Ayling-Ellis
A year later and Rose’s legacy is still palpable on the dance floor. It’s all thanks to something that Giovanni has been doing since the show returned to our screens this year.
This year, Giovanni has been partnered up with radio personality Richie Anderson. The pair impressed judge Craig Revel Horwood in Saturday night’s live show, with the infamously hard-to-please expert telling Richie he was happy with his “transformative” Quickstep.
They performed to a rendition of Dancin’ Fool.
Giovanni, however, is still showing audiences he hasn’t forgotten what he learnt while dancing with actress Rose in 2021.
While partnered with Rose last year, Giovanni learned British Sign Language (BSL). He did this so that he could connect more effectively with Rose who has been deaf since she was born.
On Sunday (October 2), Giovanni used BSL to thank audiences for voting him and Richie through to the prevailing week. Viewers couldn’t help but gush online once they saw his heartfelt reaction to making it to the next round in the competition.
Giovanni wasn’t the only star to sign to viewers at the weekend. So did some of his Strictly co-stars, including Gorka Marquez, Helen Skelton, Nikita Kuzmin and Ellie Simmonds.
Strictly 2022
After seeing a beaming Giovanni using BSL, one elated viewer wrote: “It’s so cute that Giovanni still does the BSL for ‘thank you’ when he goes through, I love that.”
Another said: “Giovanni still saying ‘thank you’ in BSL has got me all up in my emotions!”
A third tweeted: “I’m glad Giovanni is still doing the BSL for thank you.”
Another user also commented on the other stars who were signing. They tweeted: “Nikita, Ellie, Helen, Molly and of course Giovanni and Richie… all saying thank you.”
A fifth viewer, also delighted by the sign language they were witnessing, wrote: “It’s heartening to see that Giovanni is still promoting deaf awareness on Strictly by signing ‘thank you’ tonight, even though he no longer dances with Rose.”
Despite her revered partnership with Giovanni now being a piece of history, Rose still has many other career changes occurring in her life.
She has left her role as Frankie Lewis in EastEnders. Rose has also denied reports that she will be cast as the new Doctor Who companion for next year’s series.
It comes after Doctor Who showrunner Russell T. Davies announced his returned to the helm of the popular sci-fi series and announced that actor Ncuti Gatwa would be the new Doctor.
But could Rose be denying it to throw audiences off the scent? Can we really be sure that she won’t be trading the Strictly ballroom for the most magical time machine in television history?
Read more: Richie Anderson’s remark to Giovanni Pernice after Strictly performance revealed
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