Strictly bosses forced to act fast as Giovanni Pernice shows up to rehearsal room

Pete Wicks and Jowita Przystał were rehearsing for last night's show in a studio in south London but were moved as Giovanni Pernice was dancing next door, a source claimed

Strictly Come Dancing bosses decided to move Pete Wicks and Jowita Przystał to a different rehearsal room after finding out that Giovanni Pernice was dancing next door, it has been claimed.

The former TOWIE star, 36, and his professional dance partner, 30, were practising for last night's Halloween special when it emerged that the Italian dancer was rehearsing for his upcoming tour at the same base in Oval, south London. Giovanni, 34, quit Strictly earlier this year and joined the cast of Ballando con le Stelle, the Italian version of the dance show.

But he is also visiting the UK while preparing for his tour, The Last Dance, which is set to kick off in January. A source has claimed that, given the fact that Jowita and Giovanni had a brief relationship, and that Pete was seen kissing another of the professional dancer's exes, Maura Higgins, earlier this week, the Strictly couple were moved to a studio in north London to avoid any awkwardness.

The source told The Sun on Sunday: "Pete bumped into Giovanni outside the rehearsal room and he told Jowita he had seen Gio when he went back in. It was awkward for Pete but even more so for Jowita who dated Giovanni a couple of years ago. No one likes bumping into an ex."

They added: "The production team were notified that Giovanni was at the studio and bosses made the decision to move Pete and Jowita elsewhere. They were taken to a studio in North London for the rest of the day but luckily it didn't cause too much disruption."

However, a BBC spokesperson told the newspaper that the reason why Pete and Jowita moved training rooms was because they were filming a Halloween VT in a different location. They said: "Pete and Jowita moved training rooms as they were filming a Halloween VT in a separate location in the morning. It is not unusual for contestants to change rehearsal rooms in the week, depending on personal and show commitments."

It comes amid claims of a love "triangle" between Pete, Jowita and Love Island star Maura. Pete's ex-girlfriend Chloe Sims admitted the potential love triangle isn't a surprise to her as he revealed the "magic power" he has. Chloe, 42, who dated Pete in secret for two years, claims he holds a gift that can even woo "straight men". She confessed the podcaster was far from her type but she fell hard for his charm.

Speaking to Mail Online, Chloe said: "Pete is a right bloody charmer, even men go silly for him, straight men. I used to look at him and think, what has this guy got? It's so bizarre, men love him, women love him, older women, younger women, he's just got something, this charm about him.

"I can see why all these women would be linked to him, they probably are, there's no smoke without fire. I can see why people end up in these relationships on Strictly, they are spending all that time up close and personal, and I can see how these romances happen."

She went on to label him a "natural born flirt" before joking he must hold some sort of magic power. And Chloe, who currently lives in the United States, said such is his pull it's even opened doors that would not have usually been possible. "But he must have that to even be on Strictly because they publicly said they would never have TOWIE on there so that's how strong his charm is," she added.

Pete recently opened up on his dating life in a chat with Olivia Attwood. Speaking on her podcast he confessed: "I'm constantly connected with everyone." Speaking of the link with Maura, he said: "Me and Maura have known each other for a long time… She is lovely. She is attractive. I think Maura is great and we get on very well and we have done for a very long time."

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