Strictly judge Shirley Ballas soaks up the sun in Las Vegas as series is postponed after Queen’s death

Strictly Come Dancing's James Jordan left fans unimpressed last weekend after his critique of contestant Ellie Simmonds. Ellie, who is a former Paralympian swimmer, 27, is taking part in this year's series of Strictly with professional dancer Nikita Kuzmin, 24.Taking to Twitter to express his analysis of Ellie's performance, James wrote: “Ellie! I b****y loved it! Well done Nikita - a full on routine - great timing and fun.

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.

HELEN Skelton's ex Richie Myler has broken his silence following the TV presenter's Strictly debut. The Countryfile presenter, 39, was left shattered when her rugby husband Richie ended their eight-year marriage in April, four months after their third child was born.  The 32-year-old moved on very quickly from his failed marriage with new girlfriend Stephanie Thirkill, 32, the daughter of multi-millionaire Andrew Thirkill.  And last night as Helen put on a spectacular performance on the dance floor, Richie made a dig at his ex on Instagram.

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.

Tony Adams's Strictly Come Dancing partner demanded "can we have another go, please!" after the former footballer fell foul of mistakes in their Tango to the song Go West. As Tony, 55, and professional partner Katya Jones, 33, headed for their analysis, they didn't seem to exude confidence as Tony had gone wrong a couple of times during the routine.

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.

Will Mellor and Wildlife presenter Hamza Yassin have 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.

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.

STRICTLY Come Dancing fans were left baffled this evening as Craig Revel Horwood gave out unusually high scores. The judge awarded surprising marks despite the celebrities making blunders and even out marked Shirley Ballas, Motsi Mabuse and Anton du Beke at times.

GIOVANNI Pernice and partner Richie Anderson have already got off to a rocky start on the dance floor — with tensions building at rehearsals. Sources told how reigning champ Giovanni, 32, has struggled to get his points across to Radio 2 host Richie, 34, who is “extremely over-excited” to be taking part.

SHIRLEY Ballas accidentally gave Tyler West and Dianne Buswell a higher score than intended. The head judge, 62, picked up the wrong paddle and ended up giving the couple a seven, despite her screen reading six. Claudia Winkleman was forced to ask what score she actually intended to give and she admitted she made a mistake.

STRICTLY Come Dancing viewers were left fuming this evening over a number of ‘random’ scores. Fifteen celebs took to the dance floor tonight for the first episode of the series and many ended up getting high marks from Shirley Ballas, Craig Revel Horwood, Motsi Mabuse and Anton du Beke.

Strictly Come Dancing made its highly anticipated return on Saturday, with the first live show of its 20th series kicking off with a joyful group dance by the judges and professional dancers. Hosts Claudia Winkleman, 50, and Tess Daly, 53, welcomed viewers back for the new series of the popular dance competition, as they got set to watch 15 new celebrities make their dance floor debuts.

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.

Strictly Come Dancing has always been associated with the infamous TV ‘curse’ where contestants and dancers start off the series in committed relationships only to have their heads turned by their gorgeous dance partners.Viewers have seen it happen to pro dancer Brendan Cole and Natasha Kaplinsky in the first series, and Flavia Cacace and Matt Di Angelo in series four.But by far the most memorable incident took place in 2018 after comedian Seann Walsh and Katya Jones were pictured kissing during the series while she was still married to her husband and fellow pro dancer Neil Jones.While love is often lost on the talent show, it’s not all doom and gloom for many of the stars, with many long-standing couples surviving the dreaded curse throughout their time on the show.READ MORE: Strictly Come Dancing's Daisy Lowe announces engagement to real estate fiancéWith the 20th series of the beloved BBC One dance competition just around the corner, Daily Star took a deep dive inside all the successful romances to come from the show.James Jordan, 43, and his loving wife Ola, 39, are best known for transforming dance-novice celebrities into mind-blowing ballroom dancers on the popular talent show.And it was easy to see the chemistry between the loving couple on the BBC show, but what many viewers may not know is that the pair actually met years before they performed on Strictly together.The pro dancers first met at the famous Blackpool ballroom back in 1999 where James – who had already established himself in the dance community – was competing with his Polish girlfriend and partner at the time.But that didn’t put Ola off the Gillingham-born star, as she recalled the first moment they locked eyes in an interview with Heart

Strictly Come Dancing fans are "concerned" Craig Revel Horwood has been "replaced" on the BBC show.Saturday's episode (September 24) saw Craig resume his role as judge alongside Shirley Ballas, Motsi Mabuse and Anton Du Beke.After handing out two scores of six consecutively, Anton raised the alarm that something may not be quite right with his colleague, joking: "I'm concerned about Craig."Posting to Twitter, fans agreed that Craig was acting rather strangely.READ MORE: Strictly fans convinced Claudia 'forgot to dress up' as she dons casual attireOne fan wrote: "Has something happened to Craig? Two 6's, unheard-of."Another commented: "I am also concerned about Craig, he’s normally the only one who scores correctly."Meanwhile, a third asked: "Who are you, and more importantly what have you done with Craig?"A fourth fan quipped: "Where is the real Craig this is not Craig release the real Craig?"A fifth said: "Erm…is Craig Revel Horwood ok? He’s being really positive this week," while another viewer concluded: "I'm loving the new Craig.""I like that Craig is switching things up a bit this year and being nicer," a seventh fan agreed.Craig's generous marks included a six to Loose Women star Kaye Adams.He was her highest scorer, with the presenter only receiving 21 out of 40 in total for her first dance with her professional partner Kai Widdrington.Speaking after her performance, Kaye said: "I mucked up lots of the steps there."I'm so sorry [Kai].