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Giovanni Pernice lifts the lid on 'special moment' after poignant dance with Strictly's Rose Ayling-Ellis

The Strictly duo kept their routine a surprise

giovanni pernice rose ayling ellis
Sharnaz Shahid
Deputy Online Editor
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Giovanni Pernice and Rose Ayling-Ellis' dance from Saturday night will go down in Strictly Come Dancing history after leaving viewers at home in tears with their poignant Couple's Choice.

MORE: Rose Ayling-Ellis hails Giovanni Pernice after silent dance routine leaves fans in tears

Appearing on Monday's It Takes Two, the pair opened up about the "special moment" and revealed why they kept the silent part of their routine a secret.

WATCH: Rose Ayling-Ellis and Giovanni Pernice leave Strictly fans in tears with poignant dance

"It was a secret because it was such a special moment," the professional dancer explained. "We had this idea. First, I asked whether Rose would agree to do something like this through the dance, obviously, I couldn't just go ahead and do it because it's very important – it's me working in Rose's world."

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He added: "She said it was a fantastic idea, so I'm very proud and privileged that you gave me a chance to come into your world, and me, to be able to share it in a positive story."

The EastEnders star and her Strictly partner delivered a first for the show when they danced their emotionally charged routine to Zara Larsson's song Symphony - it was swiftly hailed as Strictly's greatest ever performance.

rose giovanni dance© Photo: BBC

Rose and Giovanni during their couples choice dance

They paid respect and raised awareness for members of the deaf community when the music cut as they continued to dance in silence. Rose then explained: "It's not very often that we get to show our world on a massive platform, on the TV like this.

"I felt like I wanted to tell our story, because it's positive and a lot of people, like, when they find out their child is deaf, they think of their world as crushed, but it shouldn't be. Being deaf is a gift."

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Following the performance, Giovanni confessed how touched he was – and even whispered, "I love you" to his dance partner.

"A moment that will remain forever in my heart [heart emoji] You really are a ROLE MODEL! @rose.a.e," he later wrote on Instagram.

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