Strictly Come Dancing has revealed its special plans for co-host Tess Daly ahead of her final appearance on the BBC dancing competition.
The 56-year-old will take to the ballroom for the first time since 2008 with Slovenian dancer Skorjanec, 35, as part of the series’ Christmas special.
The pre-recorded episode will mark the final appearance of Daly and her co-host, Claudia Winkleman, who announced their joint departure in October.
However, during the show, judges Shirley Ballas, Craig Revel Horwood, Motsi Mabuse and Anton Du Beke Tess will present an Argentine tango.
It will be the first time Tess has danced on the show in more than a decade, after appearing with Anton du Beke in the 2008 Children in Need special, in which she competed with the late Sir Terry Wogan.
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The special will also see Winkleman, 53, open the door for Strictly band composer Dave Arch in a parody of Love Actually.
The presenter is greeted by 63-year-old Arch, who holds large signs reading ‘say it’s carol singers’ and ‘to me, you are perfect’, referencing the iconic 2003 rom-com scene between Andrew Lincoln’s character Mark and Keira Knightley’s Juliet.
Elsewhere in the special, six celebrities will compete for the title.
Contestants include TV star Scarlett Moffatt, who teams up with professional dancer Vito Coppola, All Saints singer Melanie Blatt, who dances with Kai Widdrington, and EastEnders star Nicholas Bailey, who teams up with Luba Mushtuk.
Also in the special episode, actor and podcaster Babatunde Aleshe will perform with professional dancer Nancy Xu and Westlife singer Brian McFadden will dance with Michelle Tsiakkas, while Gladiator Jodie Ounsley will be paired with Neil Jones.
The contestants will be judged by Ballas, Revel Horwood, Mabuse and Du Beke, although the voting studio audience will have the ultimate say on who wins.
Tess and Claudia’s special surprise comes after fans were outraged by a spoiler from the show.
The results of the beloved Christmas special were leaked again before it aired.
Fans took to
@xViCkIx_ also wrote: ‘Are we surprised at all?’ while @WilliamMil8h86
exclaimed, “I’m not going to waste my time watching 👀 in protest for Lewis and Katya.”
Although Strictly’s results are pre-recorded, StrictlySpoiler is a website dedicated to leaking the results every week before the BBC has a chance to broadcast them, run by Dave Thorp.
The Strictly Come Dancing Christmas special will air on BBC One and iPlayer on Christmas Day from 5.30pm.
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