Monday 26 September 2022 05:41 PM Strictly's Richie Anderson breaks his silence and pays tribute to dance partner ... trends now

Strictly Come Dancing star Richie Anderson has broken his silence amid his alleged 'feud' with same-sex dance partner Giovanni Pernice.

The radio personality, 34, paid tribute to Giovanni on Sunday, alongside a video of them doing a the Cha Cha Cha around the ballroom. 

It comes after claims the pair 'haven't clicked' since being paired together on the hit show. 

'A moment I'll never forget and so grateful I got to share it with Giovanni,' Richie wrote on Instagram underneath the clip. 

'Thank you Gio for being the most amazing teacher over the past fortnight. Last night was a dream come true moment.'

He added: 'Plenty of feedback from the judges to take on board, can't wait to get back in the rehearsal studio tomorrow and put it into practice. Thank you Gio and Strictly.' 

It comes after rumours the pair 'haven't clicked' since being paired together as tensions rise off camera.

They were announced as the BBC shows second all-male partnership and are one of two same-sex pairings on this years series.

Sources told The Sun that professional dancer Giovanni was becoming frustrated with Richie not listening to him in rehearsals. 

One insider said: 'The pair haven't clicked. Richie is so swept up by the whole experience that he is talking 100 words a minute, and it can be hard for Giovanni.

'He has told pals that Richie talks instead of listening during training, and it is frustrating.'

They then added that it was early days and they were still getting used to each other: 'Giovanni thinks Richie has real potential in the competition.'

However, a source close to the pair told MailOnline: 'Talk of them not getting on is nonsense. They are having such a laugh and were thrilled at the reaction on Saturday night.'

For the first time in the show's history, there will be two same-sex couples performing in the same series, with Karen, who last year danced with Greg Wise, taking to the floor with comedian Jayde.

The fifteen couples have been working hard in the training room, with their debut performance set to air during the first Strictly live show on Saturday, with the judging panel scoring each dance out of 40.

The pairs will then deliver a second performance the following week when the public vote will open, before a results show on Sunday reveals which two pairs received the fewest votes and must compete in the dance off.

The judges will then decide which couple they would like to save, and the other pair will be eliminated. 

The series opener also featured two incredible performances from the Strictly professionals, as well as the return of reigning champion Rose Ayling-Ellis, and a music performance from John Legend who performed his new single All She Wanna Do.

Joining Claudia and Giovanni on the sofa ahead of their comeback dance, Rose told how it was 'lovely' to be back on the show while expressing her shock that it had been a year since she took part.

She added that training for her return dance with Giovanni made her realise how much she 'missed' training with him, while the Italian hunk added that the few hours they danced together once again was 'magical'.  

Dusting off their paddles were returning judges Shirley Ballas, Craig Revel Horwood and Motsi Mabuse and Anton Du Beke. 

While viewers were no

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