Strictly's Giovanni Pernice claims real name is Dave and from Swindon

While the Italian is famous for his dancing on BBC's mega show Strictly Come Dancing, his solo shows resemble something more akin to a Saturday night variety show. 

His latest, Giovanni Pernice Made In Italy, featured dancing - which is a given - stand-up comedy, musical theatre, acting, singing, and even a brilliant piece of audience interaction. 

The show focuses on Giovani paying tribute to his roots by celebrating different aspects of Italian culture with a number of set routines dedicated to each one. 

We saw tributes to Italian food with a musical theatre-inspired storyline, a nod to classic Italian cars with a rousing Ferarri-themed medley, and even a reference to Italian fashion with the 'House of Pernice'

The man himself would take the starring role in most of these sequences, alongside leading lady and fellow Strictly star Lauren Oakley, but both were joined by an outstanding ensemble of some of the best dancers and singers from the Ballroom and theatre world.

Giovanni Pernice with fellow Strictly star and leading lady Lauren Oakley in his latest show Made In Italy (Image: Giovanni Pernice Made In Italy)

Each section of the show was broken up by Giovanni addressing the audience and delivering a standup routine about the differences between Italy and the UK, which were amusing in a classic Saturday night kind-of-way, if not fairly stereotypical.  

One standout moment saw the heart-throb admit that he was only pretending to be Italian for television and was actually called Dave and his hometown was Swindon, which the crowd loved.  

Another fantastic moment was when an audience member named Derek was reluctantly dragged onto the stage to take part in one ensemble dance number, but then things got even funnier when the mood shifted and Dave found himself getting seductively danced at by the female cast members before Giovanni himself, in full drag, joined in. 

Like many other solo shows, Giovanni used the opportunity to highlight that he's more than just a dancer, he can hold the stage, he can make people laugh, and he can sing.

There was one moment where he styled himself as James Bond in one number and then immediately went into singing Nessun dorma which was a little self-indulgent. But ultimately if you've got the talent to pull it off, then why not!

And frankly it didn't hamper things one bit. When you have a show with as much talent as this one did, fronted by someone with as much charm as Giovanni, it's impossible not to have a good time with it all.