Strictly Come Dancing star Giovanni Pernice has heaped praise on his celebrity dance partner Faye Tozer after reaching this year's grand finale! The pair are set to compete alongside Ashley Roberts and Pasha Kovalev, Joe Sugg and Dianne Buswell as well as Stacey Dooley and Kevin Clifton in next weekend's final. Taking to Instagram to reflect on their journey, pro dancer Giovanni wrote: "We started this experience 15 weeks ago. I still remember the first day of training… you were really shy, not confident in your ability."
© Photo: BBCGiovanni Pernice and Faye Tozer have reached the Strictly final
"We have been working really hard every single week to try to deliver the best performances we could possibly do and now seeing you believe in yourself makes me the possibly most proud teacher and friend," he added [sic]. "You are a true star @faytozersmith! Now we have to go there and enjoy our last week. Che sarà, sarà (what will be, will be) you are the winner in my eyes!" Making sure he thanked their fans, the Strictly professional concluded: "I am so proud of you and over the moon I can now finally call you FINALIST of Strictly 2018!!! And to all of you guys who voted and supported us, there is one thing to say THANK YOU THANK YOU #livingthedream." [sic]
MORE: Faye Tozer celebrates 9th wedding anniversary with husband Mick
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Overwhelmed by the love and support, Steps star Fay replied: "Such lovely words @pernicegiovann1 What a journey it's been! Thank you for your beautiful choreography and giving me the chance to shine! For giving me strength and confidence when I needed it most. I’m so happy and proud that we're Strictly 2018 finalists. Thank you partner!" This comes shortly after the pair were romantically linked, which has strenuously been denied. "Faye has been married to her software engineer husband Michael Smith for nearly ten years, and they recently celebrated their ninth wedding anniversary. They proud parents to their only child, Benjamin Barrington Tozer-Smith, who was born in 2009.
MORE: Inside Strictly star Faye Tozer's house with husband Michael Smith
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