Debbie mcgee: strictly star reveals her other choice of partner

The 59-year-old former magician’s assistant was paired up with the Italian heartthrob, 28, during the live launch of Strictly Come Dancing 2017 and went on to make it all the way to the

final. Their adorable relationship contributed to the duo winning the hearts of the nation and helped them impress the judges week-on-week. Asked which male pro she would like to have danced

with had it not been Giovanni Pernice, Debbie McGee admitted on The Telegraph’s Strictly column she had had her eye on a couple of other dashing dancers. “You know that they are going to

match you up with somebody your height,” she explained, before adding: “I would love to dance with Aljaz [Skorjanec]. “I just adore him to bits but he would have been far too tall. “They’re

all so amazing and they’re all lovely people,” Debbie gushed, but went on to admit one sexy Spaniard would have been particularly welcome as her partner. “Yes, Gorka [Marquez] would be the

right height for me and I just adore Gorka,” she said. “I speak some Spanish, only a little bit, and I could have practised my Spanish with Gorka. “AJ I thought I would’ve probably looked

like his mother so I wouldn’t have got put with AJ,” she laughed. “The make-up girls, when we did the launch show, said, ‘Oh, they’re bound to put you with Kevin.’ And, of course, he’s

amazing as well. “They are all incredible but because Giovanni and I had hit it off learning the launch dance that’s why he was the one I wanted from the beginning,” Debbie insisted. She and

Giovanni made it all the way to the grand final last year but lost out on the glitter ball trophy to actor Joe McFadden, 42, and his partner Katya Jones, 29. This series, Debbie is

supporting Giovanni and his new celebrity partner Faye Tozer, 42, who are tipped as early favourites to win the show. Last weekend, their Movie Week Quickstep to You’re The One That I Want

from Grease earned them first place on the leaderboard. Scoring a massive 36 points out of a possible 40, with nines across the board, Faye and Giovanni beat Ashley Roberts, 37, and Pasha

Kovalev, 38 to the top spot. The week before, their dramatic Tango-influenced Viennese Waltz divided the judging panel when Shirley Ballas, 57, had some criticism for Faye. “My issue is when

you’re moving forward you should be the person who’s driving and you should be going forward on your heel and you went forward every step on your toe,” she said, sparking a fiery spat with

Craig Revel Horwood, 53, who informed the couple: “Don’t listen to anything Shirley’s got to say.” Debbie later hit out at Shirley’s comments on the podcast, saying: “It’s weird when the

criticism is about the dance and not about the dance. “Shirley wasn’t criticising Faye’s dancing, she just wanted more traditional ballroom steps. “It is a Viennese Waltz but you have to

move forward at some point,” she said. “I know I’m biased, I am, because I danced with him, but I actually thought it was great.” _STRICTLY COME DANCING CONTINUES SATURDAY AT 6.40PM ON BBC

ONE._