John Whaite says Rose’s dancing on 'Strictly' gives him 'shivers every time'

John Whaite and professional partner Johannes Radebe
John Whaite has been dancing with Johannes Radebe this series. (Image credit: BBC)

Strictly Come Dancing 2021 star John Whaite has enthused over his fellow contestant Rose Ayling-Ellis, following her latest routine with Giovanni Pernice over the weekend.

Rose and Giovanni performed a Paso Doble to California Dreamin', scoring 33 out of a possible 40 for that routine. After being declared safe from elimination, Rose took to Instagram to thank everyone for supporting and voting. 

She wrote: "Thank you so much to everyone who have voted and supported us. We really appreciate it. I am feeling very lucky and grateful to be here. @pernicegiovann1 you are the best, thank you. 💕 I cannot wait to dance for next week!"

John responded to her post, praising their performances by simply writing: "You guys give me shivers every time", and many fans agreed with John's comments.

One fan replied to John's comment, saying: "you're so kind and a true gent John"

Another fan wrote to Rose adding: "You were incredible, that Paso was immense. Well done"

And a third said: "I’m really proud of you, as a Strictly fan who’s deaf, have enjoyed this years. Keep up the good work"

Both Rose and Giovanni and John and Johannes were safe from elimination, meaning we'll get to see them battle it out once again in the next episode of Strictly. Between them they've both received brilliant scores, with Rose and Giovanni even making history by getting the earliest perfect score of 40 so early on in the competition. 

John and Johannes are the show's first all-male pairing and have delighted audiences with their bakery-themed Charleston routine and chimney sweep routine inspired by Mary Poppins

Unfortunately, it was Tilly Ramsay's turn to be sent home from the competition after being in the bottom two next to Rhys Stephenson and his partner Nancy Xu. This means Rhys will join Rose, John, Dan, and AJ for the next round, so the competition is getting tougher!

Strictly Come Dancing continues Saturday nights on BBC1. For full listings — see our TV guide.

Lucy Buglass
Senior Staff Writer

Lucy joined the WhatToWatch.com team in 2021, where she writes series guides for must-watch programmes, reviews and the latest TV news. Originally from Northumberland, she graduated from Oxford Brookes University with a degree in Film Studies and moved to London to begin a career writing about entertainment.


She is a Rotten Tomatoes approved film critic and has a huge passion for cinema. She especially loves horror, thriller and anything crime-related. Her favourite TV programmes include Inside No 9, American Horror Story, Stranger Things and Black Mirror but she is also partial to a quiz show or a bit of Say Yes to the Dress