Caroline Flack has nothing but praise for her "brilliant" Strictly Come Dancing partner.

The former host of The Xtra Factor has been paired with Pasha Kovalev for the upcoming series of the BBC One celebrity dance contest and she's confessed she thinks her professional partner's calmness will help to settle her nerves ahead of performances.

Caroline Flack / Credit: BBC

She said: "Pasha is brilliant. He's so calm - he's like the opposite of me."

Caroline also revealed she received a good luck gift from Pasha's new girlfriend, 'Countdown' beauty Rachel Riley.

The couple - who were partnered together on the show last year - confirmed they were dating last week after Rachel split from husband Jamie Gilbert during the competition.

Caroline added to The Sun newspaper: "And sending me the box of goodies to say good luck was very sweet of Rachel. She seems lovely."

The 34-year-old presenter recently returned from a Sport Relief trip to Rwanda, in central Africa, where she visited families affected by the genocide of twenty years ago.

She said of the experience: "The people I met in Rwanda were incredible, so strong.

"They taught me to make the most of everything that comes to you in life.

"Rwanda is a beautiful country with a traumatic past... People are still trying to move on and build a future for themselves and their country."

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