‘Strictly Come Dancing’ contestant Laura Whitmore has admitted her new partner Giovanni Pernice is putting her through her paces in training.
Laura and Giovanni are currently working hard behind the scenes, ahead of their dance floor debut later this month, but she’s confessed she wasn’t quite ready for how grueling the training would be.
Opening up to the Daily Star, she revealed: “I thought it would be easier. But Giovanni was like: ‘We can’t have any breaks, let’s work hard’. He’s quite strict.”
The current series marks Giovanni’s second year on the show, having made it to the final in 2015 with celebrity partner Georgia May Foote, who he began dating shortly after the show ended.
Following their split, Georgia was forced to pan rumours in the press that she was “devastated” her ex had been partnered with her friend, Laura, insisting: “Please do not believe the crap you read! She’s a beautiful person.”
Laura isn’t the only one of this year’s contestants to admit to having difficulties with training, with former MP Ed Balls admitting the standard of his competitors was “a bit high” compared to his expectations in a recent interview with HuffPost UK.
The first six ‘Strictly’ couples will perform together for the first time on Friday 23 September on BBC One.
Check out all of this year’s couples below...