STRICTLY’S Katie McGlynn is itching to hit the dance floor — but has put her foot down and refused to rekindle her romance with show professional Giovanni Pernice.
Former Corrie star Katie, 28, sent a message to the Italian dancer’s girlfriend, Love Island beauty Maura Higgins, saying: “Don’t worry. I’ve no time for a man.”
Katie also revealed she has cut out alcohol and started a strict fitness regime to try to win the Glitterball Trophy.
And she disclosed that she considered quitting acting after leaving the Street when work started to dry up during lockdown.
Katie, known to millions as Corrie’s Sinead Osbourne, opened up to The Celeb Report on Sunday for the first time about her fling with Strictly professional Giovanni, 31.
She said: “Giovanni is a really nice guy but I don’t really know him. We’re on perfectly good terms but Maura has nothing to worry about.
“I would never get involved with anyone that had a girlfriend. I understand that happens but I’d avoid that like the plague. If someone has a partner, they are completely off-limits.
“I never want to be that person. The amount of heartache the other person would be going through — it’s just really not nice and I’m not about that.”
Asked if she would rather not be paired with Giovanni, Katie said: “I’d rather the speculation died down but I’m sure it will once we have partners.
“I don’t have time for a man at the moment. I even deleted the Raya app recently.
“I think it’s fantastic when people find love on Strictly — it’s such a lovely story — but I don’t want that. I don’t want anything to distract me from dancing.
“Once the show is over, I’m definitely open to meeting someone. But I’m not desperate. I know it will happen when it happens.”
Katie also explained that she has cut out alcohol to give her a chance to win the show. She said: “You only get this chance once. I want to give it my best shot.”
It comes after she was snapped slumped in a street after downing champagne at a freedom party.
The actress, now in Hollyoaks, said she would be so busy juggling filming for the Channel 4 soap with dancing that she would not have time for socialising with pals.
And she also revealed that she has embraced clean living and thrown herself into a gruelling exercise regime as she prepared to twirl on to the dance floor.
Katie said: “I’m a very social person, so if I have a drink it’s with friends, as an excuse to see them. I love doing that but I’m not going to have time for it with Strictly and Hollyoaks.
“My life for the next few months will be dancing, filming and going up and down the country, so if I have any spare time, I’m going to want to sleep.
“I know there are going to be weeks where I’ll be knackered but I’m more than prepared for that, and if I have to train to midnight, then that’s what I’ll do.
“You only get this chance once, so I want to give it my best shot. I know it’s going to be hard, but I’m ready.
“I’m going to eat well, fuel my body with good stuff, sleep when I can and, hopefully, I’ll get the hang of the dancing.
“I’ve always loved training on and off but recently — because Strictly was coming — I’ve trained hard. I’ve made sure I’ve gone to the gym. I want to be good.
“And I needed to make sure my fitness levels were really up there, because the dancers all work so hard. You can see them all sweating after each routine.
“I just want to be fit as a fiddle, ready to twirl around the dance floor. I can’t wait to get cracking.”
Katie left Corrie in 2019 following a harrowing cancer storyline that earned her a National Television Award for Best Serial Drama Performance.
She went on to land another soap role, playing Becky Quentin on Hollyoaks.
She admits that before winning that part, she struggled with anxiety as acting jobs dried up with the spread of Covid-19.
She said: “My decision to leave Corrie was a leap of faith and I’m so glad I made it. But then I don’t have a job and I’ve just walked away from regular work.
‘A REAL HONOUR’
“Then lockdown hit. I’d been cast in The Syndicate but it kept being pushed back and I was struggling to get anything else.
“It did make me question if the problem was the pandemic or me and I did think about quitting. But, thankfully, then Hollyoaks came along.
“When I was offered Strictly at first, I did question if it was physically possible to do both shows.
“But then I thought that so many people would chop off their right arm to do Strictly.
“And after last year, I have never been so willing to work 24 hours a day. I want to grab all the experiences I can, because life is too short.
“And to be part of a show that’s cheering people up like Strictly does is a real honour.
“I am so excited. I want to work hard, and do well. I just hope I can do it without falling over, because I’m so clumsy that I’m like Bambi on ice sometimes. I’ve been practising walking down stairs because I don’t want to fall down those studio steps.”
Katie, who says learning to dance is a childhood dream, also revealed how getting the call for the show was bittersweet because her grandma, Joan, who died recently, was such a big fan.
And she said she was determined to do well for her.
She went on: “My entire family are over the moon. My mum is worried I’m going to fall and hurt myself but she’s so excited. Dad’s been teaching me his dance moves, like Drive The Bus.
“It’s been bittersweet because my grandma loved the show and I’m devastated she can’t be with us to watch it. She and my grandad were big fans.
“I know they will be at the back of my mind when I’m dancing. We all used to watch Corrie and Strictly together and my grandad, Dennis, used to go, ‘You might be on there one day’. He knew all the dances, too. He’d be helping me if he was here.
“But I know they are there in spirit. I want to do well so I can make them, and all my friends and family, as proud as I can.”
Next week’s launch show will see the Strictly celebs paired with professional partners.
And Katie went on: “I want a partner who works hard, who is strict and gets the best out of me but I want to have fun. I want to look back and say what a wicked time I have.
“I get my head down and get on with it but I don’t take myself too seriously and I want to have a laugh.
“But all the dancers are brilliant. I’ve been watching back Strictly routines on YouTube and just seeing how phenomenal past contestants have been is amazing.
“If I can get just a smidge of what they have on the dance floor, it’ll be fantastic.”
