Irish television presenter Laura Whitmore has been paired with professional dancer Giovanni Pernice on this year's Strictly Come Dancing on BBC One.
The Bray woman - a longtime Strictly fan - was delighted with the pairing on Saturday night's opening show. "Irish and Italian - it's going to get feisty," she said.
Ireland meets Italy in this #Strictly partnership! It’s @thewhitmore and @pernicegiovann1! pic.twitter.com/epstK8HAE3
— BBC Strictly (@bbcstrictly) September 3, 2016
Whitmore added that it was "surreal" to be on the show and that there were "even more sparkles than I thought".
Whitmore and Pernice now have three weeks of training before they return to the dancefloor on BBC One. Saturday's show attracted 9.3m viewers in the UK - a record audience for a Strictly launch.
What an amazing Launch Show! I'm so proud to be part of this family @bbcstrictly and I can't wait to start dancing with @thewhitmore!#🇮🇹+🇮🇪
— Giovanni Pernice (@pernicegiovann1) September 3, 2016
Last year on Strictly, Pernice and his 2015 celebrity partner, former Coronation Street star Georgia May Foote, finished as joint runners-up.
Whitmore's fellow Strictly Come Dancing contestant Anastacia has opened up about her appearance on the show and what it means to her in the wake of her mastectomy.
Anastacia - who will dance with Brendan Cole for the Glitter Ball trophy and donate her show fee to charity - was first diagnosed with breast cancer in 2003 but it returned ten years later, leading her to have a radical mastectomy.
And the 47-year-old singer explained that appearing on Strictly means much more to her than merely learning how to dance.
"I want to discover how to use my upper body because with my radical mastectomy I had to remove my lats completely from the bone and attach them to the front, so when I move my back, [my chest] moves," she said.
"So I want the costumes to feel comfortable, but I also have these huge scars on my back. The costumes are very revealing and they're going to work with me to hide them or make them less visual.
"But I have said I'm open - if I feel like I've grown and gone past a mountain or whatever, I would love to be able to accomplish that at least, to have realised that I can show them. It's just that I've never shown them since 2013."
Left Outside Alone? Not on our watch! @AnastaciaMusic and @BrendanCole team up! #Strictly pic.twitter.com/UcfJqZpXm8
— BBC Strictly (@bbcstrictly) September 3, 2016
An emotional Anastacia admitted: "It would be an intense situation... I think even talking about it I have a lump in my throat! So it would be very interesting.
"And so I'm there with a part of my heart saying I'd be willing to, but they're very kind to say, 'You don't have to'. But yeah, I might."
She added: "I really am just kind of doing Strictly for my journey and for other women's journey. We all go through this. Even though I look so strong, I've got these scars I've never shown and my weakness is right there for you all to see, not usually when I'm doing my music - you don't see it.
"So the show will be able to show you a lot more of my vulnerable side that I never really show too many people."
