STRICTLY Come Dancing winners Rose Ayling-Ellis and Giovanni Pernice were reunited for dinner on Saturday night at a swanky restaurant.
The dancing couple were spotted together at London eatery Gola in Fulham as they ate pasta and sipped on cocktails together.
Professional dancer Giovanni, 31, took to his Instagram stories to document their evening out as they were reunited weeks after the BBC One competition.
He and deaf EastEnders actress Rose, 27 – who won the nineteenth series last year – could be seen sat opposite each other as they dined out.
“Nice catch up,” the dancer captioned a joke video of the pair sitting in an awkward silence opposite one another as a waiter filmed them.
Giovanni followed up with a clip of the soap actress tucking into a pasta dish, where he could be heard shouting: “Happy days, food!”
It comes days after dancer Giovanni sent fans wild with his sweet and loving New Year’s message to his Strictly dance partner.
Taking to Instagram Rose shared a collection of photos from the previous 12 months – including snaps of herself with Giovanni on Strictly.
She wrote next to the sweet snaps: “Stay afraid, but do it anyway. What’s important is the action. You don’t have to wait to be confident. Just do it and eventually the confidence will follow.”
She continued: “That definitely what 2021 did for me, the year of growth, discovery and surprises. I cannot wait to see what 2022 would bring.”
But it was Giovanni’s reaction that really got fans going when he replied with a string of red heart emojis – sending fans into a frenzy.
While Giovanni might be single, Rose is happily loved up with her boyfriend called Sam, so the two Strictly champs are just good friends.
The EastEnders star has tried to keep her personal life out of the public eye, and could be the reason why Sam did not appear in the Strictly studio before the final.
OK magazine reported them spending their six year anniversary together in 2020.
Rose wrote: “Six years we’ve been together and I still don’t find you annoying”, in a sweet Instagram tribute to her boyfriend.
While Samuel, writing on social media said: “I still find you the most funniest, beautiful and super cool girlfriend I ever asked for.”
The EastEnders star – best known for playing Frankie Lewis in the BBC soap – took home the Glitterball trophy with dancer Giovanni last year.
The soap star made history on Saturday after becoming the first deaf contestant to win the BBC ballroom series.
Following her win, The Celeb Report exclusively revealed that EastEnders cast and crew fear Rose will quit the soap to chase new chapter in career.
