Strictly star says his 'knees are in shock' as he shares injury concern ahead of live show

Judge Motsi Mabuse quickly corrected herself and apologised after she mixed-up the names of two of the professional dancers on Strictly Come Dancing. As she critiqued Kym Marsh and Graziano Di Prima for their Viennese Waltz, she got his name muddled with fellow pro Italian dancer Giovanni Pernice.

Strictly Come Dancing fans were quick to react on Twitter after judge Shirley Ballas made a blunder live on-air at the start of Saturday's show. As the show opened, Tess Daly called to Shirley, 62, for comment as she announced that the voting lines would be open on the show this week.

Strictly Come Dancing judge Motsi Mabuse was left red-faced after getting one of her co-star's names wrong. The judge was critiquing Kym Marsh's Viennese Waltz with her professional partner Graziano Di Prima when she inadvertently called him by Giovanni Pernice's name.Motsi quickly covered up her blunder by blaming the show for having too many "Italian boys" – but poor Graziano was left offended.READ MORE: Strictly’s Kaye Adams makes X-rated confession after wild training sessionWhile delivering her comments, Motsi said: "There were so many beautiful moments.

Strictly Come Dancing favourite Will Mellor had a mixed reaction from judges, after his hip-swivelling enthusiasm was praised, but his technical performance was criticised.The former Coronation Street villain confessed that his mind "went blank", as pro dancer Nancy apologised to him for pushing him "too hard".Even worse, he endured trolls on Twitter telling him he should be removed from the performance altogether.The verdict from the judges after tonight's effort was that the 46-year-old heart-throb needed to "work on his performance".Shirley Ballas had previously praised his hip movements on Celebrity Juice - before he'd so much as signed up for the show - but her feedback this evening wasn't all positive, as she told him he was "making mistakes".Will dismissed errors in his footwork, including standing on Nancy's foot, as being caused by "nerves".Nancy then apologised to him, admitting to the audience: "I push him really hard...

Strictly Come Dancing's Will Mellor admitted his "mind went blank" as he unfortunately made a mistake in his opening dance with pro Nancy Xu.The actor, 46, and pro, 31, opened the BBC One show on Saturday with a Salsa to Never Too Much by Luther Vandross, where during the routine Nancy lost one of her earrings. After performing, host Tess Daly pointed out: "Losing buttons and earrings and all sorts, we are live after all!" While during the judges' feedback, they pointed out some errors in the routine as Shirley Ballas said: "There were some mistakes this evening, I saw your little face - it's quite difficult to repick it back up but you got on with it, you did it!" Speaking to Claudia Winkleman after the dance, a deflated Will admitted that his "mind went completely blank" but pointed out that this is live TV.

Strictly Come Dancing star Will Mellor tugged at the heartstrings of the nation as he broke down live on-air while apologising to his children.Will and his professional partner Nancy Xu performed a Salsa on Saturday night (October 1), but he received some harsh critiques from the judging panel for his "heavy" dancing.Judge Craig Revel Horwood told Will: "I thought you danced all of that just too heavily into the floor, and that interrupted the flow. It was a bit jagged in places, and this is a dance that should be a melting pot of steps."He did admit that Will has "exceptional rhythm" and said his performance skills are "out of this world".

Will Mellor set the Strictly Come Dancing dance floor on fire last week when he and fellow contestant Hamza Yassin came joint top of the leaderboard for the first live show of the series. And this weekend, the Two Pints of Lager and a Packet of Crisps actor will be looking to wow the four judges once again as he gets set to test his Salsa skills alongside Strictly pro Nancy Xu.

Kym Marsh has made Strictly a family affair from the off and couldn’t wait to introduce her dance partner Graziano to her husband Scott Ratcliff and parents Pauline and David during a break from training. But having her dad in the audience to watch her dance has been made even more poignant for Kym, 46, as she revealed she wants to make him proud. He was diagnosed with incurable prostate cancer last summer and now Kym, who’s incredibly close to both her parents, says she’s doing the show for them.

Will Mellor, 46, is a favourite to win the Glitterball Trophy on this year's Strictly Come Dancing, but there was once a time when he was unsure whether he wanted to compete at all. In an unearthed early interview, he revealed that past girlfriends had felt forced to end their relationships with him after his fame exploded and rumours circulated about him cheating with other women.The interview, which took place when the Two Pints of Lager and a Packet of Crisps star was just 24, delved into his heartache as he struggled to cope with his rising notoriety."If I had slept with all the girls I am supposed to have had, I would have withered away.

Will Mellor, 46, slammed the lid down on the boot of his Porsche, with his friend trapped inside, and then ignored the screaming pal's pleas to be let out as he drove around.The Strictly Come Dancing hopeful, a favourite to win the Glitterball Trophy this year, admitted that he found the prank hilarious.Speaking in an unearthed interview, he elaborated: "My mate Nick, he is only small, 5ft 4in, so he got in [the car] for a laugh and I shut the bonnet lid, then drove around for a bit."Acknowledging his friend's fear, Will admitted: "He was screaming, 'let me out'. He rang me up from the bonnet on his mobile.

We’ve been captivated by his sexy moves and jokey manner – but Will Mellor admits he wouldn’t be on the show if he hadn’t developed a new perspective on life after losing his beloved dad. The star, who shot to fame in Hollyoaks, has referred to his dad Bill as his “hero” and says he was left “crippled” when he died just two weeks after being diagnosed with cancer during the pandemic. But while Will, 46, says it was a “horrible time”, it has taught him he should be “grabbing opportunities and making memories”.

EastEnders star James Bye is taking to the dance floor on Strictly Come Dancing this year, alongside celebrities such as Helen Skelton, Will Mellor and Kym Marsh.The actor, 38, who portrays Martin Fowler in the hit BBC One soap, was the 14th star to be announced in the star-studded line-up, and he called it an "honour" to have been asked to appear on the popular show. There's no doubt all of James' EastEnders cast mates are cheering him on from Albert Square, alongside his loving wife Victoria and their three sons, Edward, eight, and Louis, six, and three year old Hugo.

The Strictly Come Dancing journey kicked off last week with the brand new batch of 15 celebrities and their professional partners making their debut in the ballroom.

Strictly Come Dancing co-stars, dance pro Nikita Kuzmin and his celeb partner Ellie Simmonds.The Spanish dancer, 32, reshared a sweet snap of the partnership ahead of the second week of the show.In view of his 703,000 followers, Gorka voiced his support for Nikita and Ellia.The Strictly pro reposted a picture of the duo which paralympian Ellie has shared to her stories.In the pic, Nikita affectionately had his arm around Elie's shoulder as she beamed while hugging him around his waist.The swimming champion also revealed that the Spaniard was the one who took a snap of the sweet moment.Ellie wrote: "@gorka_marquez bringing out his incredible camera...

Strictly Come Dancing fans have been left delighted as the show has brought back one of their 'favourite' things about the series. The hit BBC One show returned to screens last Friday with the much-anticipated launch show.

Strictly Come Dancing star Hamza Yassin has already hit a bump in the road after he had to be "patched up" during training as a result of knee problems.The Countryfile presenter, 32, joined this years series of the BBC competition as was partnered with professional dancer Jowita Pryzstal.The duo performed the Foxtrot to the Dolly Parton smash hit Islands in the Stream on Saturday (September 24) and soared to joint top of the leaderboard alongside Will Mellor after being awarded and incredible 34 points.READ MORE: Strictly row as Jeremy Kyle has heated clash with pro dancer over 'woke' line-upDuring last night's It Takes Two, host Janette Manrara pointed out that Jowita, 28, was forced to "patch Hamza up" during rehearsals.As a clip played of Jowita taping around Hamza's knees, the former Strictly pro said: "So you are working him really hard because we've got this going on! What's happening?""It's just prevention," chimed Jowita.The CBeebies star explained: "I'm complaining about knee pains all the time, my knees are hurting. It's kicking and this is what she has to do basically, to keep me from not complaining.""And it works! So I can last nine hours a day, six days a week," he added.The pair revealed that their routine for this weekend is the Jive which will be performed to The Weeknd's Blinding Lights.Speaking about joining the cast of Strictly, the Animal Park star admitted he was "over the moon" as he's watched the show for years.He said: "I am absolutely over the moon to be joining Strictly 2022."Never in a million years did I think I’d be on such a cool show.

Strictly Come Dancing waltzed back onto our scenes on Saturday night, bringing a whole host of celebrities who took to the dancefloor to show off their ballroom moves. But how much do you know about the hit BBC show?Superfans can test their Strictly knowledge by taking our quiz - and find out if you deserve to lift the glitterball trophy for yourself.Season 20 will see the likes of Helen Skelton, Ellie Simmonds and Will Mellor gracing the ballroom floor in the hopes of being crowned the Strictly champion.And what better way to welcome the show back than to remember iconic contestants and tear jerking performances from the past 19 years? From previous winners to movie week madness, prove that you’re the ultimate Strictly Come Dancing fan by taking our quiz!If you can't see the quiz on your browser, you can find it HERE.Once you've cha-cha-cha'd your way through the quiz, quickstep into the comments and let us know how many questions you got right!And don’t forget to sign up to our TV newsletter to get all of the latest gossip on the show straight to your inbox.

Strictly Come Dancing star Will Mellor has taken to Instagram to lament the "tough" dance sessions he's undergoing following his first week on the popular BBC show.The actor, 46, who is partnered with dance pro Nancy Xu on the programme, told how he feels "broken" following gruelling training sessions.In view of his 352,000 Instagram followers, the Hollyoaks star captioned the update "No pain no gain right!!??".Appearing in a white t-shirt, Will said: "Alright, Hope your week's going well."I'm just sat here in my dressing room, I've got loads to do today and training obviously."I've been training Monday and Tuesday," he added, lamenting his busy schedule.He continued: "Honestly, I'm broken, my body's just wrecked."I mean, Saturday night was just an amazing moment for me and my family."What a feeling that was after the dancing."I'll never forget it, I won't," Will gushed, before going on to address the challenges he's facing this week.The actor went on: "But you get one day off and it's like right, back to reality, you got a new dance to learn today and you've only got five days to learn it and it's got lifts in it!"Honest to God, it's so tough, you know."I'm not a young lad anymore, I don't bounce like I used to!"Will explained: "Honestly my body's wrecked, but Saturday's coming no matter what you do."So you just got to put the graft in and do the best you can and that's that."I'm on It Takes Two tonight, 6pm, so if you want to watch it, tune in and you'll see me on that."If not, I'll see you Saturday, here we go again!" Will added before signing off.It comes after bookmakers show Will Mellor is the most backed celebrity contestant among people who have fancied a flutter on this year's glitzy competition.Ladbrokes have

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.