SCENES AT STRICTLY Faye: Why everyone falls for Giovanni

STRICTLY favourite Faye Tozer says her dance partner Giovanni Pernice is a hit with her family.

Faye, 43, said of the hunk: “Everyone loves him. My nana asks about him, my mother-inlaw asks about him, he really has become a part of our family. “He’s been absolutely brilliant and we love him lots.”

The Steps singer also revealed she has been in contact with Debbie McGee, 60, for tips on keeping Gio, 27, in his place. She said: “We get lovely messages from Debbie every week, she’s such a legend. “I love her so much and she was saying when times get tough or you need to put Gio in his place, give me a call. We’re in cahoots.” Faye admitted it can be hard being away from husband Michael Smith, 36, but the couple, who have a son Benjamin, nine, use FaceTime to stay in touch. She added: “I’ve always worked away from home, it’s nothing different for the family, but obviously you miss each other. “I think I had such a lovely last couple of years with Steps and had quite a lot of downtime at home between recording and the tours. So having this amount of time away from home we just really miss each other.

“We thank heavens for technology – Facetime, voicemails and photos that you can send each other so you feel like you’re

JOHN WARD

IT was musicals week for the celebs battling it out to make next week’s semi finals.

And Mamma Mia! the show opened with a camp showstopper as the judges danced to an ABBA medley.

But the winner takes it all …and after last night’s performances that looks even more likely to be Stacey Dooley.

The TV presenter stole the show last night.

There was nothing miserable about her Les Mis routine which had the judges singing her praises.

However, she only racked up 38 points. That together. But we miss each other loads.

She said of Michael: “He’s been at the live show every week with bells on, although he’s not used to getting papped. He’s started thinking about what to wear after they commented on his style!”

Faye went into last night’s show covered in bruises after getting a few shiners during training.

She said: “I’ve got some right shiners!

“Gio’s never dropped me. I’ve bumped my head a couple of times but that was my fault not his. We really had to up our game for the quarter finals and included the lifts, which caused the bruises.”

You can see who makes it to the semi-finals by watching the results show tonight at 7.20pm on BBC One. was beaten by Faye Tozer who managed to earn a perfect 40.

Dancing as a puppet for her Sound Of Music routine, she showed she was no muppet and took full marks.

It was a great night for Lauren Steadman, with her South Pacific-themed dance getting her 35 points.

Charles Venn matched her score with a belting rumba. While Joe Sugg lived the dream with a cracking performance to Joseph And His Technicolor Dreamcoat which netted him a healthy 36 points.

Ashley Roberts romped to 38 points with an impressive Funny Girl routine – but viewers may have the last laugh by not voting for her to win.

I reckon she will be calling out an SOS after the public votes are counted tonight.