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Daily Mirror
Daily Mirror
Entertainment
Charlotte Tutton

Strictly's Giovanni Pernice hits back at 'untrue' Richie Anderson 'feud' claims

Strictly Come Dancing's Giovanni Pernice has hit back at "feud" claims about him and celebrity dance partner Richie Anderson.

The pro dancer and radio star Richie were hit with reports of a falling out during training, with them said to not get along.

But following Richie appearing to rubbish the rumours this week, Giovanni has now spoken out too and done the same.

He spoke directly to viewers on It Takes Two on Wednesday night to inform them that there was "no problem" between them, and that they were having the best time in rehearsals.

Following their impressive first routine on Saturday night, that gave them high scores from the judges for week one, the pair proved there was nothing going on behind the scenes.

(BBC)

Speaking on the show, Giovanni said: "We are having a good, we're definitely having a good time. Obviously it's a dance competition at the end of the day so we have to learn something.

"But there is no problem. Where is the camera? There is no problem between us, we are having a good time. So forget about what you are writing, it's not true."

Strictly Come Dancing's Giovanni Pernice has hit back at "feud" claims about him and celebrity dance partner Richie Anderson (BBC)

Richie laughed and placed his hand on Giovanni's shoulder as he agreed, while host Janette Manrara joked they were "in love".

It follows Richie appearing to deny the claims, as he praised Giovanni on his Instagram page.

He wrote: "Thank you Gio for being the best teacher over the past fortnight.

Following Richie appearing to rubbish the rumours this week, Giovanni has now spoken out too and done the same (BBC)

"Plenty of feedback from the judges to take on board, can’t wait to get back in the training room."

Richie recently revealed that he wanted to be paired with a male pro on this year's Strictly Come Dancing to celebrate both his 10th anniversary with his partner and the 50th Pride.

Richie, who has been in a relationship with Dean Eagles for 10 years, told the Mirror ahead of the show's launch that he had discussed his options with a partner.

He spoke directly to viewers on It Takes Two on Wednesday night to inform them that there was "no problem" between them (BBC)

"They actually gave me the option," he said. "They rang me up and they said, 'We want you to be on Strictly this year' - I ran off screaming and they were like, 'Can you come back to the phone?' They went, 'We're booking you for you, so it's up to you whether you want to dance with a female partner or a male partner.'

"I spoke to my partner Dean and this year is our 10 year anniversary and we have to - for our 10 year anniversary - it's the 50th anniversary of Pride this year as well - we have to dance with a man."

Strictly's It Takes Two airs weeknights at 6:30pm on BBC Two and BBC iPlayer.

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