Giovanni Pernice and Gorka Marquez both had two-word responses as their return to Strictly Come Dancing was confirmed. The pair are among the professional dancer line-up for the upcoming 2023 edition of the BBC One show which was revealed by the broadcasted on Friday (April 21).
The BBC has confirmed that the 21st series of the hit dance contest will air this autumn and will see Tess Daly and Claudia Winkleman will be back in the ballroom overseeing proceedings each weekend as a host of brand-new celebrity contestants take to the floor in a bid to lift the coveted Glitterball Trophy.
The judges are also back with Shirley Ballas returning as head judge alongside Craig Revel Horwood, Motsi Mabuse and Anton Du Beke. But all eyes were on the professional line-up as fans were keen to see which dancers would be returning for another year of sequins and spray tans.
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Confirmed to return are Dianne Buswell, Nadiya Bychkova, Graziano Di Prima, Amy Dowden, Karen Hauer, Katya Jones, Neil Jones, Nikita Kuzmin, Gorka Marquez, Luba Mushtuk, Giovanni Pernice, Jowita Przystal, Johannes Radebe, Kai Widdrington, Nancy Xu, Carlos Gu, Lauren Oakley, Michelle Tsiakkas and Vita Coppola all take to the floor once more, promising viewers an abundance of spectacular routines.
The line-up reveals that dancer Cameron Lombard has quit the show two years after joining the line-up and performing in the ensemble.
As the news was revealed, videos of the returning stars were posted on Strictly's social media channels and the string of famous dancers were quick to respond. Spanish-born Gorka, who now lives in Greater Manchester with his fiancee Gemma Atkinson, was reportedly set to quit the show after missing out on the Glitterball with Helen Skelton back in December. Gorka, and even Gemma, denied the claims after fans felt the dancer and former Blue Peter host Helen were 'robbed'.
And now, sharing the video to his Instagram Story, the 32-year-old penned: "Can't wait," before adding int he comments section on the Strictly page: "Excited to be Back!!"
Giovanni also sparked fears he'd leave the show. It came after his early exit from the competition last year which came less than 12 months after he lifted the coveted Glitterball trophy alongside EastEnders actress Rose Ayling-Ellis. But he was quick to hit back at the claims and took to his Instagram Stories to share a news headline, which read: "Giovanni threatens to quit the show after being 'wasted' this series". He then added: "LOL [laughing face emojis] I'm not going anywhere!!!"
And after that was proved to be true with the latest announcement, the Italian star simply said: "Lovely jubbly." Co-star Amy Dowdne, meanwhile, wrote: "Forever grateful and can’t wait!" as Johannes Radebe typed: "And so it begins." Dianne Buswell commented: "So excited for another wonderful year with you all."
Neil Jones posted: "Always feel very blessed to be asked back and I can’t wait to create more strictly memorable moments." ANd Kaid Widdrington shared: "It’s official." Nikita Kuzmin penned: "We are back babyyy. Exited exited exited!" And Nadiya Bychkova added: "We are back. Can't wait!"
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