Strictly Come Dancing Live tour - what to expect, tickets latest and full-line up for Manchester AO Arena gigs
23.01.2022 - 23:59
/ manchestereveningnews.co.uk
After a two year absence, the sequin-festooned spectacle of Strictly Come Dancing Live is back at arenas up and down the country.
Stars of the latest BBC series will be joined by previous show favourites to all once again do ballroom battle in an arena setting - with audiences getting to vote for their favourite at every show on the tour.
And fans of Strictly will get to watch the series 19 winner, EastEnders star Rose Ayling-Ellis and her dance partner Giovanni Pernice, once again compete against runner-up, Great British Bake Off star John Whaite and Johannes Radebe.
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The Strictly Live tour kicked off in Birmingham, and heads to Mancheser's AO arena next weekend, January 29-30 for four dazzling shows.
There are matinee and evening performances on both Saturday and Sunday, with tickets still available for most shows.
Here we take a little look at what you can expect on the new tour and who will be aiming to impress for the audience votes.
Strictly 2021 winners, EastEnders star Rose Ayling-Ellis and Giovanni Pernice, will be defending their title on the dancefloor, alongside runners-up Great British Bake Off star John Whaite and Johannes Radebe for the live tour.
They will be joined by show favourites Dragon's Den star Sara Davies and Aljaž Skorjanec and Rhys Stephenson and Nancy Xu.
Reality star Tilly Ramsay was set to reunite with her dance partner Nikita Kuzmin on the tour, but he is out of this week's dates having tested positive for Covid-19 but will be back on the tour "as soon as possible". While he is away, Tilly will dance with Neil Jones.
Returning Strictly stars for this year's tour are The Wanted heart-throb Max George who is teamed with