BBC Strictly Come Dancing fans declare Rose Ayling-Ellis and Giovanni Pernice wish after 'welling up' at final dance on show

Strictly Come Dancing fans were left with the same wish after seeing Giovanni Pernice reunite with Rose Ayling-Ellis in the ballroom. The BBC's hit dance contest returned to screens on Friday night (September 23) with its launch show seeing the celebrities paired with their professional partners for the first time.

The 20th series of the popular dance contest was due to return last Saturday night but the BBC took the decision to postpone following the death of the Queen until after her state funeral which took place on Monday. And things got off to a beautiful start when the show opened with a stunning ballroom performance from the fabulous professional dancers.

It was then over to Tess Daly and Claudia Winkleman to officially kick off Strictly 2022 and welcome the judges - Craig Revel Horwood, Motsi Mabuse, Anton Du Beke and head judge Shirley Ballas - back onto the panel for another glitter-filled series.

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And while viewers were delighted to see the show back on screens, it wasn't long before some were left in tears as Giovanni and Rose performed for a final time on the show after lifting the Glitterball trophy back in December 2021.

First thought, Strictly fans saw Rose appear in a VT where she called her experience on the much-loved show a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity and praised Giovanni for his support and teaching. "I can't believe it's been 1 year, it's gone so fast," she said. "I miss being in the training room with Giovanni a lot."

They then saw them reunite in the training room and actress Rose, who left EastEnders this week, praised the Italian dancer for adapting to teach her