GIOVANNI Pernice passionately kissed Strictly partner Amanda Abbington after their steamy Samba tonight.
After finishing their jaw-dropping routine, an ecstatic Giovanni celebrated by gripping his partner’s face and planting his lips on it.
The move seemingly puts to bed the behind the scenes feud that had marred their early days on the show.
Viewers loved the chemistry and athleticism, as did the judges who each scored it an eight.
One fan wrote on X, formerly Twitter: “Amanda and Giovanni… just wow!!! I absolutely loved that.”
Another said: “Amanda & Giovanni deserved at least one 9. That was a brilliant Salsa.”
A third wrote: “Blimey! That was the dance of night for me. So far. Amanda and Giovanni BROUGHT IT tonight.”
The Sun told how the actress, 49 and Gio were at loggerheads behind the scenes and Amanda was upset over Gio’s ‘militant’ approach to training.
A source previously said: “Giovanni is a hard taskmaster and takes the competition very, very seriously.
“Sometimes his manner is incredibly brusque and this can upset his partners.
“Amanda was really looking forward to dancing with him, but has found his aggressive training style and attitude pretty difficult to handle.
“He is quite militant in his approach to training. She’s been left very shaken, and has liaised with her team about quitting.”
Despite any behind the scenes tensions, the pair performed really well in week one and have put on a united front on social media.
And this week they emerged as early front runners thanks to their sizzling Samba which oozed with chemistry.
