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Daily Mirror
Daily Mirror
Entertainment
Lucy Domachowski

Strictly's Richie Anderson breaks silence on Giovanni Pernice ‘feud’ in attempt to quash rumours

Strictly Come Dancing's Richie Anderson has broken his silence on his rumoured “feud” with his pro partner Giovanni Pernice.

The radio host, 34, and the professional dancer, 32, were paired together for this year's dance competition, with the two performing their first dance over the weekend.

Although the show has barely begun, it was rumoured that the two don't 'click'.

Sources had claimed Giovanni was frustrated with Richie for not listening to him during rehearsals.

But the BBC Radio 2 star has now spoken out about the alleged “feud” and paid tribute to his partner on Instagram, in an attempt to quash rumours.

The DJ thanked Giovanni in a gushing post, where he called the pro an "amazing teacher".

Strictly Come Dancing's Richie Anderson has broken his silence on his rumoured “feud” (PA)

Richie, 34, shared a video of their first live performance, a Cha Cha Cha to I'm Your Man by Wham! and said: "A moment I’ll never forget and so lucky I got to share it with @pernicegiovann1. [heart emoji]

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

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

It comes after the duo failed to address the rumours as they dodged a question about how they were getting along on The One Show on Monday evening.

"Now guys, what's the inside scoop?" host Alex Jones asked the duo. "You know, how are you two getting on? What's the chemistry like, how's it all going in camp?"

Alex then tried to think of a cute nickname for the two, calling the Rich-ovanni.

Although the show has barely begun, it was rumoured that the two don't 'click' (BBC)
Giovanni Pernice was rumoured to have been frustrated with his partner (BBC)

Richie and Giovanni laughed and expertly avoided the main question and focused on the nickname.

They revealed they call themselves team Pesto Pasta as Richie struggled with the cha-cha-cha.

"I was struggling with the cha cha cha steps, because it starts on a two," he said. Richie kept getting the steps wrong.

"He told me that when he teaches his kids, who are two, he tells them it's 'Pesto Pasta cha cha cha.'

"I was like, 'That actually works', and it became our thing!"

Richie and Giovanni didn't talk about their relationship during rehearsals nor did Alex press for more answers.

A source had previously revealed the two weren't clicking as well as they hoped.

Sources had claimed Giovanni was frustrated with Richie for not listening to him during rehearsals (PA)
The DJ thanked Gio in a gushing post, where he called the pro an "amazing teacher" (BBC/Ray Burmiston)

One insider said to The Sun: "The pair haven't clicked. Richie is so swept up by the whole experience that he is talking 100 words a minute, and it can be hard for Giovanni.

"He has told pals that Richie talks instead of listening during training, and it is frustrating."

They said that it's still early days and the duo are still getting used to working with each other.

"Giovanni thinks Richie has real potential in the competition," they added.

However, a different source claimed to another publication that the idea of the two not getting on is 'nonsense'.

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