Irish TV presenter Laura Whitmore is leaving the jungle behind to get up-close-and-personal with Giovanni Pernice on the Strictly Come Dancing dance floor.
When it comes to what she’s looking forward, Laura is excited about the chance to learn how to dance.
“I suppose, learning a new skill of how to dance. My friends are so jealous. Iāll be learning a new skill and getting fit! Just to learn a new skill will be great and I suppose maybe at the next Whitmore wedding Iāll get on that Jive floor with all my aunties and Iāll show them a thing or two!”
Does she have a routine she’s particularly looking forward to learning?
“The Jive because my mum can Jive! Iāve seen my mum and her sisters at weddings. My mum is one of thirteen like any good Irish family, so you always see her and her sisters up jiving and itās so fast I get scared! I remember my dad trying to Jive with me and just being so frightened on that dance floor because there were so many Whitmore women around and I just thought ‘this is not safe!'”
Laura has her sights set on getting into head judge Len Goodman’s good books.
“I think I want to impress all of the judges. Len is Head Judge and itās his last year so it would be great to get him on side. I love Craig because I kind of feel he is a bit of a Pantomime Villain. I feel heās maybe not as mean as he seems he is so if you get Craig to say anything nice about you itās good. Bruno seems like he is really good fun so I hope he warms to me and then I just think Darcey is the classiest woman ever, sheās gorgeous, sheās delicious so I want to have a girl on my side as well.”
Watch Laura and Giovanni’s first steps below:
Strictly Come Dancing 2016 returns at 9pm on Friday and 6.30pm on Saturday.