Dance with joy... Strictly’s back with movie magic
TESS Daly and Claudia Winkleman have got that Strictly feeling again.
The show’s hosts are gearing up for the next series scheduled to start next month. But to whet the appetite before the new season kicks off, Strictly fans are in for a flashback treat tonight.
Viewers tuning in to Strictly: The Best Of Movies can relive the moments when the dancers and celebrities went to Hollywood for the night.
Hosts Tess and Claudia will feature plus regular judges Bruno Tonioli, Craig Revel Horwood and Shirley Ballas.
Next Saturday’s flashback programme will be the best of the dances from Blackpool.
Meanwhile, the BBC has defended a decision to have a same- sex pairing on the series after complaints from viewers about the move.
The corporation said Strictly is “an inclusive show” and it was “happy to facilitate” Nicola
Adams’ request to be partnered by a woman. In a statement it added that Strictly “is first and foremost about dance” and “the sex of each partner within a coupling should have no bearing on their routine”.
It was published on the complaints section of the BBC’s website in response to complaints received “from some viewers”.
It was announced earlier this month that Olympic boxer Nicola would become the first contestant to be part of a same- sex pairing.
The move follows a one- off routine from last year’s series that saw two male professionals, Johannes Radebe and Graziano di Prima, dancing together.
The BBC received 189 complaints from viewers who found it offensive.
Nicola has said the same- sex pairing is “not really a big deal” and “not such an uncommon thing”.
The two- times Olympic champion said: “I guess it’s just breaking those boundaries and showing people that it’s OK.”
The 18th series of Strictly Come Dancing will have 12 celebrity contestants and a shorter run than usual.