Strictly Christmas special first look as six new stars battle it out to be champion
The BBC has released a first look at the upcoming Strictly Come Dancing Christmas special.
The one-off episode of the show that airs on Christmas Day will see the set transformed into a winter wonderland as six new celebrity contestants take to the floor, in the hopes of being crowned the festive winner.
The A-list couples will perform their routines in a bid to impress esteemed judges, Craig Revel Horwood, Motsi Mabuse, Anton Du Beke, head judge Shirley Ballas, and the voting studio audience.
Broadcaster Dan Snow was the first star to confirm he has joined the Christmas special as he is paired up with dancer Nadiya Bychkova.
Newsreader Sally Nugent will also be dancing with Graziano Di Prima, while EastEnders actor Jamie Borthwick will be paired with Nancy Xu.
Meanwhile, Waterloo Road actress Tillie Amartey has joined the Christmas lineup with professional Neil Jones, as Rugby Union player Danny Cipriani will take to the floor with Jowita Przystał.
The sixth and final celebrity to be announced on the festive lineup is Sugababes star Keisha Buchanan, who will be paired with Gorka Márquez.
Sam Ryder will also be performing in the ballroom and viewers are promised two spectacular group routines guaranteed to bring Christmas cheer.
It comes as Danny Cipriani, who recently split from his wife Victoria, appeared to be in high spirits in the first look pictures as he dances with Jowita Przystal.
The Sun reported that his ex Victoria was left ‘gutted’ after she saw pictures of him dancing on the show with Jowita following their breakup.
In a now-deleted post, Victoria also took to social media to claim she had been blindsided by Danny announcing their split just days before going on the show.
Victoria alleged that she had found out about them parting ways at the same time as the public, causing her 'alot of pain.'
Danny shared a snap with Jowita from behind the scenes as they filmed the Christmas special. He captioned the picture: "As I'm tagging the names, I'm smiling away looking at how everyone is also smiling away in the photo!! All wonderful humans in this photo, as well as the crew behind the scenes, who to a person is delightful."
Danny then gave a special shoutout to his dance partner, saying: "Special thanks to @jowitaprzystal for always making it fun… Strictly eve."
Danny opened up about why he chose to join the festive cast, saying: "I've always enjoyed the concept of Strictly Come Dancing; it wasn't something I ever thought I'd do.
"After addressing my own ideas and beliefs, I am very much looking forward to expressing myself through dance with no limitations. Strictly brings joy to everyone's living rooms, being a part of that for Christmas Day will be special."
Strictly Come Dancing Christmas special will air on BBC One and BBC iPlayer on Christmas Day.
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