Strictly sweaty come dancing for Laura and Gio
Irish presenter tells of exhausting sessions with her Italian partner... but she f inds time to go for a drink with him
LAURA Whitmore has revealed that she is being pushed to her limits by her ‘strict’ dance partner Giovanni Pernice as she bids to win Strictly Come Dancing.
The presenter has shared a series of behind-the-scenes photographs of her dance practice sessions for the BBC show in which she looked exhausted.
She also revealed that her Italian partner Giovanni is such a tough task-master that he does not allow her to take a break until they have perfected their routines.
‘I thought it would be easier,’ Laura said. ‘But Giovanni was like: “We can’t have any breaks, let’s work hard”. He’s quite strict.’
In a post on her Instagram account she also noted that she had trained so hard she would need to put her feet on ice.
She wrote: ‘Long day! Thanks @pernicegiovanniofficial – even though it was tough at times we got there in the end! Now to put my feet in some cold ice! @bbcstrictly.’
The Co. Wicklow beauty also posted her thanks for what proved to be a very necessary gift of scent she had received.
‘I may be sweaty but at least I smell good,’ she posted.
It’s not all work and no play for the dance partners, however, as the pair headed to a London pub on Tuesday for a postworkout drink to mark Giovanni’s 26th birthday. Last week it was revealed that the pair have become close friends since they were partnered on the show. Laura, 31, treated the Italian dancer to a birthday drink and she even bought him a helium birthday balloon, which she tied to his rucksack.
Proving that they have become firm friends in the past week, they laughed and joked around in the beer garden and Laura even gave him a friendly birthday kiss.
Wearing leggings, pumps and her trusted black leather biker jacket, Laura cut a casual figure as they relaxed after their dance practice.
She is clearly delighted to be partnered with Sicilian-born Giovanni and the pair are determined
‘I thought it would be easier – he’s quite strict’
to win the Strictly title. Writing on her blog for Glamour online, Laura described him as ‘lovely’.
Gushing about the professional dancer, she added: ‘I like to call him Gio Gio [Joe Joe]. Gio is so talented, and when I saw him last year I thought he was one of the best dancers and best choreographers in the whole show.
‘I’m a feisty Irish lady and he’s a feisty Italian guy, so it should be interesting.’
One person who may not be so thrilled is Giovanni’s ex-girlfriend Georgia May Foote.
Giovanni and Georgia split just a few weeks ago after they met on the show last year.
Former Coronation Street actress Georgia is said to be ‘devastated’ and ‘not pleased at all’ about his partnership with Laura.
Laura has been single since she split from her rocker boyfriend Rory Williams earlier this year.
The pair had been dating for some time but split after Laura was linked to Leonardo DiCaprio.