Strictly Come Dancing fans have been treated to a first look at the competitors in this year’s Christmas Special ahead of the big day.
The hotly anticipated show will feature six couples strutting their stuff to festive dances as they make their bid for the festive Strictly crown.
As well as individual themed dances, celebs including Westlife‘s Brian McFadden and Gogglebox’s Scarlett Moffatt will participate in two group dances to get viewers feeling the Strictly magic at the most wonderful time of the year.
This year’s Christmas special will be a bittersweet watch for fans, however, as it is Claudia Winkleman and Tess Daly‘s last year as Strictly hosts after the pair announced their departure from the show in October.
Here are this year’s celeb and pro couples in their best, glittering ballroom attire as they prepare to debut their hard work on the dancefloor.
1. Babatunde Aléshé and Nancy Xu
If you have children, chances are that you know Elf On The Shelf – the popular lead-up-to-Christmas tradition that gets kids into the festive spirit with a visit from a naughty elf that gets up to a lot of trouble in their home.
This was the inspiration behind actor Babatunde Aléshé and his pro partner Nancy Xu’s Charleston dance.
The Taskmaster star, 39, said: ‘I’m a naughty elf that’s trying my hardest to convince Nancy to join in with the mischief and be naughty with me, and cause chaos. And in doing so, I kind of get her into trouble throughout the dance.’
In an interview with ITV ahead of the Christmas special, Nancy praised Baba for making her ‘the proudest teacher.’
She said: ‘It’s easy to think that because it’s the Christmas Special it’s all just a bit of fun, but there’s actually still a process you need to step into, and you have to build up confidence to believe that you can do it.
‘Babatunde is amazing and amazing to work with. And now he’s an elf! And do you know what? I think this character suits him perfectly.’
Reflecting on his Strictly experience, Baba said that it’s really emphasised how important it is to believe in yourself.
2. Mel Blatt and Kai Widdrington
Bringing a jazzy number to the Strictly Christmas Special are Mel Blatt and Kai Widdrington, who have said that their dance comes complete with a theatrical twist and a lot of props.
Mel, 50, who rose to fame as a member of All Saints, said the prospect of appearing on Strictly was ‘really daunting’ at first, but her pro partner Kai has ‘been able to get the best out of me.’
Despite dazzling in a floor-length dress in the first-look images, Mel admitted that the outfits were the most challenging part of her appearance in the special.
She said: ‘I’m not a dress wearer, but I’ll be wearing a long flowy dress for this. I’m very particular about the shapes and the things that I wear.
‘So that’s been quite challenging, but it’s good to be challenged. And it’s made me realise to just go for it and not care so much.’
While Mel admitted that she did have some experience of choreography ahead of Strictly, she described it as ‘plodding’ around and a world away from the type of moves required on the ballroom floor.
3. Brian McFadden and Michelle Tsiakkas
Westlife’s Brian McFadden, 45, will also be taking part in this year’s Christmas special alongside his pro partner Michelle Tsiakkas.
Their dance is equally unique and they are undertaking an ‘Elvis style’ dance that sees the singer take on the role of the iconic Christmas character Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer.
Michelle said: ‘Brian is Rudolph in a kind of Elvis style. He’s a cool Rudolph. There’s going to be tricks, there’s lots of jumps, you’ve got a bit of everything in this dance.
‘It’s really fun, 100mph and Brian’s giving it 100% despite his crazy, busy schedule travelling around on tour.’
When asked if his prior performance experience could help him on the show, Brian admitted that Strictly is a world away from being a part of a boyband.
He said: ‘I’ve had 30 years experience of performing to a live audience, but there’s nothing from my music career that’s going to help me dancing wise!
‘Any dancing I’ve done so far has been very much improvised! But now that I’m dancing Michelle’s dance, I have to be true to her art, so that’s extra pressure!’
4. Jodie Ounsley and Neil Jones
Bringing a commercial street dance to this year’s special is Gladiators star Jodie Ounsley, 24, and her pro partner Neil Jones.
The actress said: ‘It’s a great nod to Gladiators and there’s some coal carrying too. We’ve got some fun bits in there: I’m going to try and flip Neil!’
But despite being enthusiastic about her Strictly stint after the fact, she said that she very nearly turned the opportunity down.
However, Jodie has now ‘surprised’ herself and credits her dance partner Neil ‘for giving me that confidence.’
Touching upon the group dances, she said that the celebs had fun and that competition was the furthest thing from their minds.
She said: ‘It sounds cheesey, but we actually do really help each other and want the best for each other! It would be easy to come into this environment and be competitive, but we’ve just really enjoyed spending time with each other.’
5. Nicholas Bailey and Luba Mushtuk
Waltzing their way around the festive dancefloor this year will be Eastenders star Nicholas Bailey, 54 and his pro partner Luba Mushtuk.
He said: ‘We’re dancing a Viennese Waltz. It’s a lot faster, I understand, than a standard Waltz. It has a real flow and a momentum to it, but it’s still with the elegance of the Waltz.
‘It’s very disciplined in its form, but also it has moments of spice, a bit of activity. It’s flirtatious, but also energetic.’
Luba said that Strictly fans can expect to be surprised by Nicholas on Christmas Day as he threw himself into his new role as a dancer.
She said: ‘Knowing that Nick’s an actor, I thought that he would find it easier if I gave him a character. But he’s really, really surprised me with how much he wanted to feel like a dancer.
‘And I think for people at home, the biggest surprise is actually his dance on Christmas Day – that’s gonna be gorgeous.’
6. Scarlett Moffatt and Vito Coppola
The final couple bringing festive magic to the Strictly dancefloor this Christmas are reality star Scarlett Moffatt, 35, and her pro partner Vito Coppola.
Dancing a Cha Cha Cha, Scarlett admitted that it comes with a festive twist that will see her ‘spin around in a big bauble’.
She said: ‘There’s a lot of spins, a lot of silver, and it’s just very camp! It’s like a club scene, I spin around in a big bauble, I get thrown around – it’s full on! But still very technical.’
Scarlett, who made her name sitting in front of a TV, said that her ‘favourite position’ is normally seated and that the experience has introduced her to muscles that she never knew she had.
She said: ‘It’s made me feel so proud, because Vito will show me a move, and I think there’s no way on this earth that I can do that, and then after a while, I’m like “Oh, I can do it!” So there’s a big sense of pride.’
However, Scarlett’s Strictly journey has not been entirely plain sailing and she and Vito reportedly required the most direction during the group rehearsal.
She joked: ‘I would say that, during the group rehearsal, Scarlett and Vito were probably the names the choreographers we’re having to say the most, so that probably puts us on the Naughty List.
‘Babatunde would be on there too, and Brian. We’re probably the ones in the naughty corner.’
She added that her family plans to do a group FaceTime on Christmas Day itself to watch the show.
Scarlett added: We’ll have a big fake Christmas in January with all the family and friends. Because Jude’s only two he doesn’t really understand the dates!’