STRICTLY star Ranvir Singh has told how Giovanni Pernice reignited her pride in her figure.
The journalist has been praised for "looking 10 years younger" since joining the BBC dance show.
And her flirty behaviour with dance partner Giovanni has led to rumours of a secret romance.
In an exclusive interview with The Sun, Ranvir has revealed how Giovanni has been pivotal in building her confidence.
"It's not really about weight actually or anything like that," she said.
"It's more just the fact that you're using your body at quite a rate that I've never used it before.
"I've never been a gym bunny. I don't really enjoy exercise, and therefore, using your body, repeating it hour after hour, movement after movement, and then realising that your body is capable of a lot more.
"I write myself off quite a lot, but Strictly is reigniting a small modicum of pride in what my body can achieve, even though I take ill upon it. I think that's the joy of Strictly.
"It's a big moment in anybody's life to be on Strictly. It's invigorating, it's exhilarating, and you feel incredibly lucky.
"The wardrobe department here are basically full of magicians.
"Therefore, I'm wearing a corset, which is amazing. Then, you have the dress on, which is basically sewn onto you. Nothing goes unnoticed.
"The wardrobe department are the ones who deserve all the credit here."
Ranvir says she's also turned to Giovanni to give her confidence to perform live every week.
"I’ve never danced on live TV before, but Gio just tells me to forget about everyone else and focus on what we’re doing.
"To be honest, I love the pressure, and I think that probably does come from what I do in my day job, doesn't it? Everything is now or never.
"Most of my life in journalism has been about live television, so I suppose that is a real bonus.
"I'm happy about that, because I came with nothing else for Giovanni. This is my only offer to him, my ability to cope with live TV.
"In that sense, at least for him, he can trust me that I can hopefully deliver what we've tried to achieve in the last week."
Rnvir says she's got an "insatiable appetite to achieve things" and is grabbing her Strictly opportunity by the glitterball.
"I'm desperate to want to learn and want to do it well," she said.
"All of my friends, everybody I've ever known, this is the one thing they would all love to do, and I'm the one doing it.
"It'd be churlish of me to say anything other than I'm utterly grateful. It's a challenge, but people have got far greater challenges than being a bit tired and dancing on telly.
"Blisters are just part of the story. Everything aches, and the common conversation between all the contestants is, 'that's hurting today?'"
Ranvir says she's taking liquid iron, omega tablets and multivitamins to ensure she's fighting fit for the challenges ahead.
And she makes sure she treats her feet to an ice bath after intense training.
Ranvir added: "I've been told that ice for your feet, especially for when your ankles are feeling really swollen from all the dancing.
"We obviously have to train in our heels and it’s a killer. It's not advised by the pros to train in trainers, especially for the women, because your body weight shifts when you wear heels.
"It's hardcore, but yeah. Ice for the feet is the one trick I’ve learnt so far. "
She's been getting advice from her Good Morning Britain colleague Susanna Reid and Loose Women pal Ruth Langsford who both starred on Strictly.
But Piers Morgan is a secret fan who has been backing her all the way.
On GMB colleagues – "He's actually secretly incredibly supportive. He likes to gloat on air, but he’s been supportive privately.
"He's not a softie in real life, but he is who he is. He wants us all to do well, to be honest.
"There’s been lots of good advice from them all, basically just to throw yourself into it, give it everything you've got, and see where you go."
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