Strictly Come Dancing's Rose Ayling-Ellis reveals new challenge

Strictly Come Dancing star Rose Ayling-Ellis has opened up on this week's challenge, revealing she will dance without counting her steps for the first time.

The EastEnders actress and her dancing partner Giovanni Pernice will perform two dances during the semi-final, including a waltz to Ellie Goulding's ballad 'How Long Will I Love You'.

In yesterday's (December 9) episode of Strictly: It Takes Two, Rose admitted to having fallen in love with this ballroom dance from day one.

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strictly come dancing 2021 quarter finals, rose and giovanni

BBC

"It's just the steps... I have to work out the steps, and then once I got confident with the steps, I was okay," Ayling-Ellis said.

"And I'm not counting," she added, revealing that she will be following Pernice. An "amazing" achievement for them in week 12, as the professional dancer put it.

"I think that this is going to be a good dance for us," he then said.

"She understands the ballroom dance. She is in position, she has got the frame, she can follow me around [...] It's the only time I can really play with music as well myself," he continued.

strictly come dancing contestants rose ayling ellis and giovanni pernice

Guy Levy//BBC

Pernice also said that he and Ayling-Ellis were able to learn the waltz in just three hours.

Speaking about last week's performance – in which the couple managed to pull off a spectacular lift – Rose and Giovanni explained that the move almost didn't make it into the final dance.

"I was worried about it," Pernice confessed.

"But then, [during] the dress run, [we] nailed it, and I was like, 'just keep it, just do it one more time,'" he said.

"I wanted to keep it, I didn't wanna change it," Rose added.

Strictly Come Dancing 2021 airs on Saturday nights on BBC One, with results shows every Sunday. Strictly: It Takes Two airs on weeknights at 6.30pm on BBC Two.