Strictly Come Dancing and Coronation Street star Will Mellor suffers injury days before first live show

Fifteen celebs took to the dancefloor for the first time at the weekend as they launched the Strictly Come Dancing class of 22. A host of stars kicked off the BBC dance contest to take us through autumn through to December and topping the leaderboard on Saturday night was snake-hipped Will Mellor.

Snake-hipped Will Mellor has revealed his tactic to win the BBC dance show after topping the leaderboard in the first week. The Coronation Street heart-throb, who played villain Harvey Gaskell in the soap, wowed viewers and judges with his sensational moves as he wiggled his way across the dancefloor on Saturday night.

Strictly Come Dancing quickstepped its way onto our TV screens on Saturday night (September 27) – and a dance expert has since revealed the celebrity that they think has the "best overall chance of winning".Stars including Matt Goss, Ellie Simmonds, Will Mellor, Fleur East and Hamza Yassin took to the dance floor with their professional partners, as the latest series of the BBC competition got underway at the weekend.However, one celebrity in particular could be in the front running to lift the glitterball trophy – Kaye Adams.READ NEXT: Become a fab-u-lous judge - cast your scores to our Strictly Come Dancing scoreboardSpeaking to Heart Bingo, dancing expert Dr Jill Rose Jacobs revealed the Loose Women presenter is her favourite to win and revealed her reasons why, saying: "It was a very fun launch show. The Friday launch show spotlighted each celebrity’s athleticism (or lack thereof), musicality, expressivity, and likability."My immediate feeling it that Kaye Adams has the best overall chance of winning."Speaking of the night's performances, she also said: "Kaye Adams' performance brought me to tears."However, Dr Jill, who was previously a professor of dance at New York University, aired her comments with a note of caution, adding that Kaye winning "will depend on her gaining confidence in her elegant stature".

STRICTLY Come Dancing fans were left stunned after a leaderboard-topping couple broke down in tears during the judges scores. The hit show finally returned to BBC on Saturday, as stars took to the stage to strut their stuff, including Helen Skelton, football and Arsenal legend Tony Adams and food writer Jayde Adams. But fans were left gobsmacked when Corrie actor Will Mellor and partner Nancy Xu broke down in tears when they go a leaderboard topping score of - making them joint first with Hamza and his partner Jowita Przystal at 34 points per piece.

BBC has said. Viewing numbers were also down for the show’s launch episode on Friday which saw the celebrity contestants paired up with their professional partners. It was watched by an average of 5.

Strictly Come Dancing's first live show was apparently watched by around a million less people than last year. The BBC ballroom contest waltzed back onto our screens at the weekend after being delayed until the Queen's funeral had taken place.According to reports, an average of 6.8 million viewers tuned in on Saturday night to see the likes of Matt Goss, Will Mellor, Fleur East and Molly Rainford strut their stuff on the dancefloor.READ MORE: Strictly's Matt Goss forked out £20k to fly dog to UK while he's on BBC showThe same instalment last year is said to have pulled in an average of 7.9 million - so over a million more.Despite the reported slip in the ratings, Strictly fans said they were thrilled to see the show back on and that its sequins and sparkles were just what the nation needed right now."What a joy to have #Strictly back," one person wrote on Twitter."The worse all the s*** in the world gets, the more precious and welcome this annual blast of glittery joyousness becomes.

Strictly star Matt Goss forked out £20,000 to fly his pet dog to Britain to be with him while he is on the BBC show. The Bros star, 53, owns a bulldog called Reggie who lives with him in the States. However he could not bare to be without his pooch while on Strictly so he coughed up the money for him to make the 24 hour journey from LA to Frankfurt by plane and then be driven to London.

Actor Will Mellor is already a favourite to win Strictly Come Dancing after a sizzling hip-shaking performance on his live show. As all 15 of the latest batch of celebrities took to the floor with their pro partners on the BBC dance show, Will impressed with his powerful performance to Livin’ La Vida Loca by Ricky Martin with Nancy Xu.

Will Mellor dedicated his dance to his mum and late dad as he and Wildlife presenter Hamza Yassin placed joint top of the Strictly Come Dancing leaderboard in week one of the new series. Saturday marked the first competition night of the popular show, with 15 couples battling it out to get as many points as possible. Two Pints Of Lager And A Packet Of Crisps star Will performed an electric jive to Livin’ La Vida Loca by Ricky Martin with his partner Nancy Xu which impressed judges Motsi Mabuse and Shirley Ballas so much that they gave him a standing ovation and a score of 34.

Actor Will Mellor is set to be a favourite to go on and lift the Glitterball trophy as winner of Strictly Come Dancing for 2022 after topping the leaderboard and wowing judges and fans in week one of the show. Betfair have now revealed Will’s odds of winning the show have been slashed to 6/4 from 5/1, making him the new favourite to win the show after an impressive opening week score of 34.

Strictly Come Dancing returned with a bang this weekend with a new set of contestants taking to the dance floor to compete for the Glitterball trophy.Singer Matt Goss made his Strictly debut on Saturday night (September 24) alongside pro partner Nadia Bychkova and performed in front of returning judges Craig Revel Horwood, Motsi Mabuse, Anton Du Beke and Shirley Ballas.But it seems fierce judge Craig, 57, has traded roles with Anton, 56 who took a savage swipe at the Bros frontman for his quickstep performance.READ MORE: Strictly's Will Mellor shared secret 'racy dance' with Craig Revel-Horwood before showAfter telling Matt that he had good "feet, timing, style, musicality," he added: "Unfortunately you looked like an unmade bed."Host Tess Daly hit back: "What are you the new Craig?"Craig then stunned everyone in the ballroom and those at home after he defended Matt, saying: ""They're all being really nasty. That was punchy.

Hollyoaks, and Corrie fans will see him as Harvey Gaskell.But it seems soap star Will Mellor was a private dancer for Strictly Come Dancing judge Craig Revel-Horwood, or at least if his saucy jokes are anything to go by.It would give Will, 46, the upper-hand over his fellow Strictly contestants this year, because he teased he spent years shaking his hips for scary judge Craig as a way to earn some cash.READ MORE:Will Mellor takes unusual anniversary trip with wife Michelle before starting StrictlyHe made the steamy 'admission' during an exclusive roundtable chat with Daily Star and other press.When told Craig had picked him as 'one to watch', he asked: "Who said that, Craig?"Will's Corrie co-star Kym then teased him: "Oh yeah, when has Craig seen you dancing?"Will then sent a flirtacious message to the judge as he quipped: "I was Craig's private dancer for many years. I was Craig's dancer for money, many years ago."But he humbly added: "I don't know where he gets that from, I was looking around yesterday and I couldn't stop smiling.

Strictly Come Dancing fans reckon they know which celebrity will be booted off the show first, despite the ballroom contest only starting last night (September 24). After seeing her dancing during the launch show, viewers are convinced that Loose Women star Kaye Adams, 59, who is paired with pro Kai Widdrington, will be the first to go home.

Strictly Come Dancing’s Will Mellor was the surprise champ on the show's launch this evening. And his mesmerising performance with partner Nancy Xu was so impressive he bagged a score of 34 - catapulting him to joint top of the leaderboard.When discussing his dancefloor success afterwards with Claudia, Will was overcome with emotion as he dedicated it to his late father, Bill. READ NEXT: Strictly's Kaye Adams cries for help mid-dance as fans baffled by 'alter-ego' Will’s dad died in April 2020, just two weeks after being diagnosed with cancer and the Corrie actor has previously said he was doing Strictly in honour of Bill.Will also heaped praise on Nancy for her teaching skills and gave a shout-out to his mum who was apparently “watching behind a cushion”.His proud wife Michelle and two teenage children were also in the audience cheering on the Two Pints of Lager legend.Will, 48, and Nancy danced a jive to Ricky Martin’s Livin’ The Vida Loca which left the judges “speechless” and even resulted in a standing ovation from head judge Shirley Ballas and Motsi Mabuse.Speaking ahead of his Strictly debut, Will said: “I lost my dad in 2020 and I just thought from then I’ve just got to grab life and I’ve got to do things and I’ve got to create new memories and my mindset changed, and that’s sort of one of the reasons why.“It’s my mum’s favourite show so she’s had it really tough over the last few years so I thought we’ll do this.” Will is a well-known soap face and has been in not only Coronation Street but Hollyoaks and Casualty.

Hollyoaks actor Will Mellor and dancer Nancy Xu gave an electric performance as they jived to Livin’ La Vida Loca by Ricky Martin on the first live show of Strictly Come Dancing 2022. The Two Pints Of Lager And A Packet Of Crisps star, 46, impressed judges Motsi Mabuse, 41, and Shirley Ballas, 62, so much that they gave him a standing ovation and a score of 34, leaving dancer Nancy, 31, in tears.

Strictly Come Dancing star Will Mellor wowed viewers of the show for many reasons on his dance debut - especially his revealing joggers.The Former Two Pints Of Lager And A Packet Of Crisps star was preparing for his routine alongside professional dance partner Nancy when his introductory VT caught the eye of viewers thanks to a saucy slo-mo clip.Dressed in a pair of dark grey tracksuit bottoms Will showed off more than he bargained for as he put some impressive hip movements on display in the training room.The hunky dad-of-two showed the outline of his 'package' as he thrusted impressively for the camera.Adoring fans then took to Twitter to comment on his physical prowess in the dance studio as they gushed over the Hollyoaks star.One wrote: "Will Mellor wearing those joggers and they put the clip on slow mo... wow"A second added: "Will Mellor just made my day in those grey joggers.

Radio DJ Tyler West has recently swapped his headphones for his dancing shoes as he hopes to impress the judges on this year’s Strictly Come Dancing alongside fellow contestants such as Kaye Adams, Ellie Taylor and Will Mellor. And while the Kiss FM star may be more comfortable in the radio station than in the ballroom, the 26 year old is most at ease when he’s relaxing in his stunning London home.

On the pitch, former footballer Tony Adams may know how to impress crowds with his footwork, but showing off his moves on the Strictly Come Dancing floor is a whole different ball game for the sporting legend. As the eleventh contestant to be announced for this year’s series, 55 year old Tony is joining fellow celebrities including Will Mellor, Kym Marsh and Kaye Adams on the dancefloor. And while sports fans may be more than familiar with Tony given his success in the world of football, some viewers may be wanting to learn more about the star as he makes his Strictly debut.

Strictly Come Dancing's James Bye has revealed his delight that he has been partnered up with Amy Dowden for his time on the show.The EastEnders actor, 38, has admitted that Amy is one of his favourite professionals and that he was "blown away" at the reveal. James told OK! and other press: "I was really shocked they gave me Amy, I view Amy, for me, watching the show...