Rose Ayling-Ellis’ absence from Strictly special ‘revealed’ after historic Giovanni Pernice partnership-Emily Bashforth-Entertainment – Metro

Rose Ayling-Ellis made history when she and Giovanni Pernice won Strictly in 2021 (Picture: PA)

Strictly Come Dancing fans were left scratching their heads after Rose Ayling-Ellis failed to appear in the show’s 20th anniversary special last night.

The former EastEnders actress, 30, made history in 2021 when she became the first-ever deaf contestant to appear on the BBC programme, going on to lift the Glitterball Trophy with Giovanni Pernice, 34.

However, while Rose and Giovanni’s partnership was remembered fondly in Strictly Come Dancing: 20 Fabulous Years, she was notably absent, despite other past contestants and professionals reuniting to reminisce on their own Strictly experiences for the camera.

It has now been claimed that the real reason for Rose’s absence is because she didn’t want to detract from the joyous anniversary celebrations by discussing her time with Giovanni.

Earlier this year, ahead of being axed from Strictly after nearly a decade, Giovanni was at the centre of an internal investigation into serious allegations made by former celebrities who accused him of bullying.

The likes of Amanda Abbington, 50, claimed he was abusive towards her and created a ‘toxic’ environment in the training room. Giovanni denied the claims and was cleared of 10 out of 16 accusations, including the most serious.

The actress did not appear in Strictly’s 20th anniversary special (Picture: James Veysey/REX/Shutterstock for BIFA)

An internal probe was launched after Amanda Abbington accused Giovanni of bullying (Picture: BBC)

Speaking after this weekend’s Strictly special, a source told The Sun: ‘Rose loved her time on the show but didn’t want to discuss her time with Giovanni.

‘She’s chosen not to speak about him and Amanda publicly.’

During the Strictly anniversary special, though, their couple’s choice routine in particular was praised after, in a historic moment, Rose and Giovanni cut the music mid-dance to represent her experiences as a deaf person.

‘Some experiences never leave your mind, and that is one of those dances,’ said judge Motsi Mabuse. ‘It was so moving.’

Professional dancer Gorka Marquez described it as ‘powerful,’ and Shirley Ballas recalled that ‘there wasn’t a dry eye in the house’ before the episode moved swiftly on.

Meanwhile, Rose has not commented publicly on the scandals surrounding Strictly this year, which also saw Graziano Di Prima deny ‘kicking’ Zara McDermott during rehearsals last series.

A source told The Sun in May that Rose was ‘finding the whole situation really tough.’

Rose and Giovanni’s couple’s choice routine was praised as ‘powerful’ by their fellow Strictly stars (Picture: BBC/Guy Levy)

‘She had a really great experience with Gio, so is really shocked by it all,’ they added.

‘She, of course, believes what others are saying, but she is just trying to not get involved. She won’t be speaking about it publicly.’

The Strictly anniversary special aired on the same weekend where Giovanni added another trophy to his collection after winning Ballando con le Stelle with his partner Bianca Guaccero, 43.

Shortly after confirming they were also romantically involved, the pair were crowned victorious in the 19th season of the hit reality programme, which is dubbed the Italian version of Strictly.

After emerging as champions, Giovanni shared a clip online with the caption ‘la coppia vince’.

Translated to English, that means: ‘The couple wins.’

According to The Mirror, it’s also claimed the dancer has vowed to marry Bianca, and when asked if he would pop the question, he said: ‘If we win the show, I’ll seriously think about it.’

Giovanni won the Italian version of Strictly this weekend with Bianca Guaccero (Picture: Maurizio D’Avanzo/MDPhoto/ipa-ag)

The pair confirmed their romance earlier in the season (Picture: IPA/Backgrid)

Speaking earlier in the season, Giovanni said of their blossoming relationship: ‘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,’ Bianca replied. ‘It’s an amazing feeling. It’s something I’m discovering at the age of 43.

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

As for the UK version of Strictly, that came to a close last weekend when Chris McCausland and Dianne Buswell were crowned, with comedian Chris having also made history as the first-ever blind competitor.

Reps for Rose Ayling-Ellis have been contacted for comment.

Watch Strictly Come Dancing: 20 Fabulous Years on BBC iPlayer.

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