Giovanni Pernice found it "so hard" dancing in silence on Strictly Come Dancing.
The professional dancer and EastEnders actress Rose Ayling-Ellis performed a stunning routine during last week's show to Symphony by Clean Bandit, but fans were most taken aback by the 10 seconds of the silence in the middle of the dance.
The pair decided to include 10 seconds of silence to raise awareness of the experiences of the deaf and hard of hearing community, leaving fans in tears.
And now opening up about the experience, Giovanni explained how hard it was for him to dance in silence, as he told ITV's This Morning : "Even 10 seconds silence - I'm a professional dancer and have been for 20 years.
"Even 10 seconds of silence was so hard because in that 10 seconds, you have to think about the steps, you have to keep on the beat, so I understand what she's been doing for eight weeks. The 10 seconds was just powerful. It was very good."
Rose also described that part of the dance as a "special moment" for her.
The actress explained: "I think it was a special moment for me because a lot of the time you always see deaf people getting on well and doing what is normal, but you don't see how much hard work goes behind the scenes.
"I think the moment was to show this is what I do - this is the amount of work I do, but I still do it with a smile on my face. That's what a deaf person goes through."
Rose explained how she uses counting to help her with the dancing.
"I count a lot in my head, it’s counting. And also it’s Giovanni with me. Really, I get my counting from him. So I keep in tune with Giovanni and if you keep doing it again, you let your muscle memory do it and then timing sort of does it in my body," she said.
The pair were also thrilled to hear Cynthia Erivo had been announced as Craig Revel Horwood's replacement on Strictly for musicals week, after he was forced to pull out after contracting Covid.
Giovanni said: "It's exciting, she's a massive star," whilst Rose added: "It'll be nice to meet her."
The dancer previously described the silent moment of their dance as one that would "remain forever" in his heart.
Alongside a sweet snap of the pair of them sharing an embrace after their stellar performance, Giovanni penned: "A moment that will remain forever in my heart️. You really are a ROLE MODEL."
The iconic dance left viewers in tears and they have tipped the pair to win to show.
