Review: Strictly star Giovanni Pernice wows at Stafford Gatehouse
Strictly fans were in for a treat as glitterball winner Giovanni Pernice took to the stage at The Gatehouse in Stafford.
The 2021 series winner is on tour with his show Giovanni Pernice - This Is Me. But the Sicilian heart-throb was not the only envy of the hordes of women in the audience – that was me!
Yours Truly was called up on stage while Gio and his male dancers performed a routine to Queen's I Want to Break Free. And yes, ladies, I got to touch him!
The routine was one of a number dedicated to Giovanni's hero Freddie Mercury, with a jive to Crazy Little Thing Called Love and a waltz to Another One Bites the Dust also featuring.
But of course, it was Pernice the sell-out crowd had come to see. Showing great stage presence, he and his troupe, including leading lady Lauren Oakley, did not disappoint.
The glitterball was on show as he took to the stage to rapturous applause, and he later paid tribute to his show partner Rose Ayling-Ellis, even signing (CORR) the lyrics to the final number, This Is Me. A cheeky Charleston and a sexy salsa also featured, while the highlight for me was the elegant routine to Michael Jackson's Man in the Mirror.
Singers Whitney and Tobias were on top form, while the other dancers which made up the eight-strong troupe ensured the energy, musicality and synchronisation was on point. It was a terrific night of entertainment, notwithstanding my own contribution to proceedings. The standing ovation at the end was fully deserved.
Giovanni entertained fans at Theatre Severn, Shrewsbury, on Monday night (7) and the show lands at Birmingham Town Hall on March 26.
He teams up with Anton Du Beke for a show called Him and Me, taking place at the Alexandra Theatre, Birmingham, on July 9.
