That is a fab smile - no earrings though!

On the P&O Cruises dates - there are four next year

Azura 2-16 April
Ventura 30 April - 14 May
Britannia 4-18 June and 25-9 June.

I am really surprised that Gio is down for the Ventura as he has tour dates on 28 April and again on 6 May. But I am not sure if the pro dancers just join the cruise for a few legs rather than the whole thing. The Azura cruise fits the tour and the first Britannia cruise would explain the strange gap in the tour schedule.


Chris - Kevin and Karen have a tour of their own.. and Janette and Alijaz have a wedding AND a tour to juggle do you think that may be why Gio is doing a couple more cruises?

And nice to see Gorka on the list as well. Gio must be dancing with Oti on the cruise as they have danced quite a bit together in the pro routines - and Oti is too tall for Gorka I think.

I think that sometimes P&O ask former Strictly celebs to join the cruise to mingle and up the 'star' factor. So, Jake Woods did one last year. I am not sure if they actually have to dance. I wondered if Georgia joined the cruise last year officially with a 'Celeb' hat on.

Gio back at Elstree for group rehearsals again today... he pops up in a group shot in the background of AJ's snapchat...

Great poster of Gio and Joanne on Twitter. advertising Donahey's weekends. I don't know how to post the link. Hangs head in shame!

There you go!

https://twitter.com/Donaheys/status/808676651714351105

Must have been taken at their weekend last year I guess? Black tie - such a good look for any man. Still fuming that we were denied Gio in Tails this year. I think Oti stole them all for Danny (who admittedly does look rather amazing in them )

(At the bottom of the Tweet, next to the Heart symbol, are three small dots. If you click on them, a menu appears. Choose the option 'Copy link to this Tweet' You will then see the URL address of the Tweet appear in a box Click the blue Copy Link button... and then Paste away! )

Jo is not at Donahey's this year I think - she is still on tour with Thoroughly Modern Mille?

And a group rehearsal shot from Alijaz,

https://www.instagram.com/p/BN9vj_EB...aljazskorjanec

Gio looking happy again. I guess Kevin, Oti and Jo are all full-tilt perfecting their show dances with their partners.

He has given it the title 'Last pro rehearsal selfie...' Can't believe the series is almost over

Thank you so much for all your help LadyLavender. I will try and do it myself next time. I think you are right Joanne is not appearing at Donahey's but she is going on one of the Strictly cruises.

I agree re Gio in tails. Love the black tie look in this picture too. Off to practise in preparation for posting next time.

This one is for you LadyLavender. Apologies to everyone for reposting link to Gio's photo,

https://twitter.com/donaheys/status/808676651714351105

Hurrah for a successful link Issfan!

And if it's Gio in black tie - you can post that link as often as you like from my point of view. And Jo Clifton looking very lovely as well too.

I am thrilled!!! Thank you for helping me add to my computer skills.

Well, I am amazed that I like ALL the showdance music!

Ore and Joanne - “I Got Rhythm” by George and Ira Gershwin
Danny and Oti - “Set Fire To The Rain” by Adele
Louise and Kevin - “One Moment in Time” by Whitney Houston

Ore in tails in a big Jo Clifton Ballroom number. Lovely
Danny and Oti in a big, dramatic contemporary Tango and Paso type number. Fab
Louise and Kevin - romantic and emotional - could be beautiful if they actually put Louise in a decent frock.

Looking forward to each of them. No disco and no dirges - it's all good for me.

yes, they're all in place

as for the final I can't decide between Danny and Louise (because of Kevin) .... should be a great show


A Gio/Aljaz sandwich .... very nice


don't apologise for re-posting the link, it's a great picture of Gio

Fantastic that we have our forum back in time for the final!

Giovanni is now confirmed for the Strictly tour but not with a celebrity partner. As we thought, Lesley Joseph is dancing with Gorka which makes sense as their heights match.

A few links from the past few days...

Gio receiving his Secret Santa gift from the Strictly team

https://www.instagram.com/p/BN_7RG4B...en-by=jmanrara

If the bag is a clue... something nice from Armani – Lovely.

The pros and celebs were rehearsing together on Wednesday, Thursday and today at Elstree.

On Thursday, they were in central London at the Jerwood Space (near to Tate Modern)
https://www.instagram.com/p/BOCZocBh...by=thewhitmore

You can see from the picture that it looks like the pro/celeb dance might mix the pairs up - that is Claudia Frag on Gio's shoulder!

They then all went for Christmas lunch at Camino, Bankside, which is a very nice Spanish restaurant. There were a few Instagram story clips of the lunch. Crackers were duly pulled!

https://twitter.com/JManrara/status/809374892462403584

A few of the more dedicated carried on until late in the afternoon (That is what I call a proper Christmas lunch) Guess who.... Ed Balls Brendan, Natalie, Naga and Laura.

https://twitter.com/ToryFrostWrites/...04244205993984

Rather worryingly, Laura ended up declaring her love for Anton
https://www.instagram.com/p/BOC49Q2B...by=thewhitmore

But then, who doesn't love Anton

And if you leave your phone lying around in the pro rehearsals... you end up with random but very nice pics of Alijaz, Gio and Gorka. I must try that myself

https://twitter.com/Mrs_katjones/sta...06127591030784

Good to have the forum back, I was expecting it to look somewhat different though! That must be yet to come.

Delighted that Gio is doing the Strictly Tour again. Loved seeing GG last year. This time there are fewer celebs and more pros and it says 'group numbers and pro routines' so they may be changing the format from last year. Looking forward to going to the first night at Wembley.

Found a further snippet of info about Gio's tour on Facebook, apparently it's a story of love and passion set in a 'busy Italian city'.

Talking of which...Rick Stein visits Palermo tonight 9pm BBC2. I think he also does the Palermo street food tour which I did earlier this year (and got a kiss from the lovely guide Marco ) I tried all the street food on offer, and I mean all...!

Thanks for all the links Lady L. Another one from last few days...

Strictly pros and celebs doing the Mannequin Challenge

Hurrah we are back!!!!

If you read between the lines of the forum upgrade posts.. I think the upgrade failed halfway through so we are still unchanged. For now

I thought that the pro routines this year on Strictly quite often had the look of something that might crop up again on the tour. There were more dancers involved than you needed for live television - but if you imagine those routines on the 02 stage they made more sense. Jason Gilkison is slowly turning the Strictly Tour into Strictly Burn the Floor.


Aha! That is new news. A busy Italian city..... now where could that possibly be... Nods sagely. It's obvious. Venice. 15 beautiful routines all set on a gondola. Perfect.


Tell me you didn't try spleen sandwich

The Sun and now OK have the story about Gorka's split from Lauren. They broke up on Blackpool night apparently. Very sad.

Yes - we are back! Appreciating that in the ITT Best Bits tonight, Gio cropped up at least 3 times by my count.

And I think that the ITT producers were definitely, definitely, making a point by including in the Best Bits package a clip of Gio saying that Laura was a great dancer and a lovely person.

As long as we don't have to see each other again we'll be fine.

I too am pleased they showed the clip of Gio saying Laura was an amazing dancer and a great person to work with. Well done production team for including that clip.

I can't believe the final is tomorrow. It promises to be a good one too. I am lucky I still have two Giovanni occasions to look forward to, the Strictly tour and Giovanni's show.
I can't wait to see Laura, Giovanni and the rest of the gang back on the dance floor.

Because they've announced the extra pros in pairs (Giovanni with Janette) I'm hoping that they'll have their own spotlight performances, as well as the group numbers. It's happened in previous years, though it was one extra couple not three.

I'm afraid I did, Lady L...it's no worse than a kebab and at least you know what's in it...although for many that is not a good thing! The food in Sicily is amazing though, the best seafood, pasta and gelato you'll get anywhere.


Excellent Issfan, are you going to the Strictly Tour too?

Details of another event, found it on Facebook:
Giovanni Pernice and dance partner will be in Aberdeen on the 27th May. This is a ticket only event with tables of 10 reserved on payment. This evening will be based on the event held in May this year in Aberdeen, An Evening of Dance. Giovanni and his partner will be dancing, answering questions and a chance to get your photograph taken with the stars. Dancers from different areas will be showcasing their talent plus live music for everyone to get up and dance to.

Unfortunately I'm probably going to miss the Final tonight due to a family event in London I can't get out of! Will have to watch on iPlayer as soon as I get home!!

The four musketeers ahead of the final - aka Kevin, Gio, Aljaz and Gorka. So today's Daily Fail article was spot on then

The article that says that Kevin never talks to Alijaz, Gorka and Gio Well... they aren't actually TALKING in this photo. Hmmmm. Yes I think Kevin is looking grumpy so he must clearly hate them all (where is that eye-roll emoji when you need it).

I think that Kevin and Karen just spend a lot of time together eating her super-healthy grilled salmon and steamed kale... (I am saving that for my Jan detox )

Or maybe I should detox with a spleen sandwich.

Yes well done production team indeed. A nice touch.

I am a little surprised that I am really looking forward to this final - I think because I am not nervous about the outcome and can just enjoy the show. And I think the pro and group dances will be terrific.

I am now feeling tempted to book a tour ticket as well. The spotlight performances would make a lot of sense. I loved Gio and Janette's pro dance together to one of the guest acts - was it to Barry Gibb? Issfan, you had the right idea to get tour tickets! Might have a little look at Wembley...


Oooh good spot. That sounds like a lovely evening.


It's so annoying when real life gets in the way of Strictly Enjoy your family bash!