They have sparked romance rumours on the Italian version of Strictly Come Dancing.

And now Giovanni Pernice, 34, and his Italian dancing partner, Bianca Guaccero, 43, have confirmed they are dating.

In a videoclip introducing their routine in last Saturday’s episode of Ballando con le Stelle, Giovanni has said: ‘Bianca is my priority. She has been my priority from the beginning. She is still my priority today and will be until the end of the show and beyond.’

‘Being someone’s priority is something new for me. I have always been the one taking care of others’, replied an emotional Bianca as she struggles for words.

‘It’s an amazing feeling. It’s something I’m discovering at the age of forty-three.’

‘Having someone next to me who is proud of me and is happy for my happiness is something new to me. This had never happened to me in my life.’

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Giovanni Pernice , 34, and his Italian dancing partner, Bianca Guaccero, 43, have confirmed they are dating after sparking romance rumours on the Italian version of Strictly Come Dancing

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In a videoclip introducing their routine in last Saturday’s episode of Ballando con le Stelle, Giovanni has said: ‘Bianca is my priority. She has been my priority from the beginning’ (pictured during routine earlier this month)

Interviewed by Monica Setta for Storie di Donne al Bivio (Stories of Women at the Crossroads) which will air on December 21, Bianca promised her partner she is ready take things further.

‘Dear Giovanni, I promise you to leave out all my fears, doubts and closures. The symbolic gift I put under the Christmas tree is to believe in our possibilities’. the Italian star said in the interview.

In the last few weeks, Giovanni and Bianca have been getting to know each other, with her visiting him in London and Giovanni meeting her family in Bitonto, Southern Italy.

‘I had a heavy stone on my heart, I had difficulty believing in true love. When I met Giovanni I felt at home and I was in London with him and then 24 hours with my parents’, she continued.

‘I wanted to introduce him to the country and the people I love’.

The professional dancer is part of the cast of the Italian series of the show after being accused of bullying on Strictly Come Dancing.

Giovanni and Bianca are being acclaimed as the best dancing duo on this year’s show. For their boogie, they got a standing ovation from Ballando con le Stelle viewers.

Despite their talent, the couple only arrived in 5th place last Saturday. The judges all agree they are talented, but some claim they are boring.

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Interviewed by Monica Setta for Storie di Donne al Bivio (Stories of Women at the Crossroads) which will air on December 21, Bianca promised her partner she is ready take things further (pictured last week)

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In the last few weeks, Giovanni and Bianca have been getting to know each other, with her visiting him in London and Giovanni meeting her family in Bitonto, Southern Italy

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The professional dancer is part of the cast of the Italian series of the show after dramatically quitting Strictly in the midst of Amanda Abbington’s abuse allegations (pictured)

‘From a technical perspective, this dance was flawless, but I did not like what I saw. It was done well, but it was boring’, said judge Selvaggia Lucarelli.

‘When I see other performances, I wonder, what will happen tonight? You don’t excite me as much as others.’

‘Every week is the same show, it’s wonderful, but I don’t expect anything else from you’, she said in a previous episode of the show.

‘He comes from England, you can’t say he’s boring. It’s unbelievable. If they are perfect, you want them to do less’, shouted Rossella Erra, viewers’ ambassador, a role that is not part of the judging panel, but can award extra points to one couple each week.

‘I am coming to term with the fact that, no matter what we do, that will always be the result, and I regret that’, replied Bianca.

‘You were excellent. You did a really difficult choreography. You were at the level of a professional couple. The synchronisation was perfect’, said Carolyn Smith, the only professional dancer and choreographer in the judging panel.

‘That was the best boogie seen on Ballando con le Stelle ever’, said judge Ivan Zazzaroni.