There is less than two weeks to go until the BBC delivers up the final of this year's Strictly Come Dancing - and there are still a few surprises in store before we get there. Professional dancer and current reigning champion, Giovanni Pernice, has delighted fans with news of his 'new' Strictly partnership for a semi-final performance.
Giovanni, who rose to glory on the show lifting the 2021 Glitterball trophy alongside EastEnders star Rose Ayling-Ellis, remains a favourite on the hit programme despite being knocked out early in this year's competition. This year he was partnered with TV and radio personality Richie Anderson but was eliminated after a dance-off against Fleur East and Vito Coppola in early October.
The dance pro joined the show seven years ago, reaching the final with Georgia May Foote, Debbie McGee and Faye Tozer, before eventually lifting the trophy with Rose in 2021. He also continues to be a regular on the current show stepping out in group numbers and in the audience.
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Now, Giovanni has some exciting news, which he shared with fans on Monday night, according to Chronicle Live. Taking to Instagram, he said that he would be paired up with Katya Jones for a performance this weekend.
The dance star reposted a video of the two of them in rehearsals that Katya had uploaded to her own story. He captioned it: "Guess who's dancing together again this weekend?"
While Katya didn't make it to the final stages of the competition this year, she can claim that she lasted longer than Giovanni. Katya was paired with former Arsenal defender Tony Adams and while they were tipped to win at one point, the couple had to withdrew due to injury.
Further changes to this week's show mean that once again Strictly will be reshuffled in the TV scheduling. The Strictly semi-final moves from its usual Saturday night slot, to allow the BBC to show the World Cup quarter-final.
The semi-final will air on Sunday night. And in a first for the long-running show, the results programme has been pushed back to Monday.
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