Gleb Savchenko has bet £100 Giovanni Pernice will hook up with his partner Laura Whitmore on 'Strictly Come Dancing'.

Laura Whitmore and Giovanni Pernice

Laura Whitmore and Giovanni Pernice

The 33-year-old Russian dancer - who appeared on the UK ballroom and latin show last year but is now on 'Dancing With the Stars' - isn't surprised the Italian hunk has split from Georgia May Foote, who he met on the programme last year, and is convinced he'll now try his luck with the blonde presenter.

Speaking to Star magazine, he said: "I'm not shocked [he's split with Georgia]. He's young and he's Italian. You know what Italians are like! They were never going to get married, have kids and live happily ever after.

"I bet you £100 Giovanni will get with Laura this year. And next season I'll bet you another £100 he will get with his new partner!"

And it seems Giovanni, 26, could be in with a chance as Laura has made no secret of the fact she'd like to find love on the show.

She said at the time: "I did laugh when they were talking about your dance partner. I was like, 'Is it dance partner or is it a future husband?' Friends who have been on the show told me you make best friends for life. They said you do become close as your dance partner is such a big figure to you and you rely on them so much. So it's not actually romantic. Then again, the show has made a lot of couples. How many relationships have come out of it? Quite a few."

Georgia and Giovanni revealed they were going their separate ways late last month, just weeks before it was announced he'd been partnered with the 31-year-old beauty for the new series.

Georgia, 25, wrote on Twitter at the time: "It is with great sadness we have decided to split up.

"There is nobody else involved. Although it was not an easy decision to make, sometimes you realise that it is better to be friends and this is one of those times.

"We both have very busy work schedules for the rest of the year so we are both going to focus on our upcoming work projects and we wish each other well for the future."