Strictly's Giovanni Pernice on how Rose Ayling-Ellis "changed his life"
Strictly Come Dancing professional Giovanni Pernice has revealed how dance partner Rose Ayling-Ellis "changed his life."
The pair competed in and won the 2021 series, after creating one of the show's most iconic moments when they danced without music to raise awareness for the deaf community.
During an appearance on The One Show on 24 January, Giovanni explained how his friendship with the former EastEnders actress has had a lasting effect on him.
"Rose not only changed my life, she changed lots of lives. What she achieved was great, raising awareness for the deaf community," he said.
"But it's important for me as well to keep doing things like this. For example, on my shows I do still have an interpreter. Because I remember Rose told me once that deaf people can go to the theatre only once a year on the Wednesday afternoon. It's the only time they do a signed performance. And I think a lot of people would like to go to the theatre a lot more often so I decided to keep going with those performances."
He added: "I think it's really important to be more inclusive. I think we should all try to be more inclusive really."
The professional dancer has a busy year ahead, as he embarks on his live tour, Let Me Entertain You. Giovanni will be joined by fellow dancers and West End performers for an unforgettable night of entertainment, starting on 25 January in Weston-Super-Mare.
Giovanni will then begin his Together tour alongside Strictly judge Anton Du Beke in June in Hayes, finishing the following month in Salford.
The shows will see the pair perform breathtaking routines that blend a variety of traditional and contemporary dance styles - tickets are available now.
Strictly Come Dancing will return later this year on BBC One, while spin-off Strictly: It Takes Two airs on weeknights on BBC Two. Both shows are available to stream on BBC iPlayer.
Tickets for Strictly's 2024 live arena tour are available now.
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