Strictly pro breaks silence amid rumours celeb 'threatened to quit before live show'

Prepare for an extra sprinkle of Hollywood glamour on the dance floor this weekend, as Strictly Come Dancing's epic Movie Week is back.The 14 remaining dance couples are set to take on an eclectic range of performances inspired by La La Land's biggest films. After finding themselves in the dance-off last week, broadcaster Nikita Kanda and Gorka Márquez will hope their Jive to Kids In America from the 1995 hit Clueless will be enough to save them from a similar fate this time round.

Former Strictly Come Dancing professional Brendan Cole has had his say on Amanda Abbington's Salsa calling it “weird” and admitting it “doesn't excite me.” Amanda and Giovanni Pernice performed to Oye by Gloria Estefan and scored a grand total of 32 for their routine, after being an eight by the four judges Shirley Ballas, Craig Revel Horwood, Motsi Mabuse, and Anton Du Beke. But while the judges may have enjoyed the routine, Brendan slammed the inclusion of lifts and claimed it "fell off towards the end". He explained: "Lifts never excite me – it's not a tricky thing to do for a professional dancer so that kind of thing doesn't excite me.

Giovanni Pernice made a sweet tribute to his former dance partner Rose Ayling-Ellis on Sunday evening's Strictly Come Dancing results show, after it was announced he and Amanda Abbington had been voted through by fans. The professional dancer, 33, won the BBC One show with EastEnders actress Rose, 28, who was the first ever deaf contestant to compete on Strictly. Rose and Giovanni formed a close bond during their time on the show and it looks like Rose has left a lasting mark on the pro dancer.

Strictly Come Dancing's first results show on Sunday night saw viewers gutted for Les Dennis as he was the first celebrity to be axed from the competition alongside professional partner Nancy Xu.

Strictly Come Dancing contestant Layton Williams said he has faced “low key trolling” that he has found “overwhelming”. On Sunday, a day after Layton and professional dance partner Nikita Kuzmin received four nines from the judges on the BBC show, the 29-year-old revealed that he had been getting mixed messages from the public. Writing on social media platform, X, formerly known as Twitter, Layton said: “The messages of love are overwhelming but as is the low key trolling.

After another exciting round of dancing from all 15 of this year's contestants, Layton Williams and Nikita Kuzmin topped the Strictly Come Dancing leaderboard with a score of 65 points! The exciting development came after the duo performed a Quickstep to Puttin’ on the Ritz by Gregory Porter, something which saw them receive high praise from the judges, with Motsi Mabuse even branding the performance the "dance of the night." However, despite their success, another star was hot on Layton’s heels, as Amanda Abbington and Giovanni Pernice only narrowly missed out on the top spot with a score of 61. The latest leaderboard shake up comes just one week on since the debut live show of the season, which saw Nigel Harman beat some stiff competition to score 32 points with his first dance.

After a glittering, foot-tapping, smile-inducing week one, Strictly Come Dancing is back for week two of the competition - and it's about to get serious. Last Saturday night's show saw all 15 couples perform together for the first time.

Strictly Come Dancing was back on our screens for the first live show of the series on Saturday evening, during which 15 hopeful celebs took to the floor with their professional partners.

Strictly Come Dancing fan super sleuths believe they have already worked out who will be leaving this year's series of the show after just one first live show - and it's not who you might expect. As the 15 core contestants took to the dancefloor for their first dances, detective fans are convinced they've 'worked out' who will be voted off first.The show on Saturday got off to a flying start with incredible debut performances all around including Nigel Harman's powerful Paso Doble which rightfully topped the leaderboard. Proving how highly talented this year's group is, the leaderboard then proceeded to have four celebrities in joint second place with Bobby Brazier, Layton Williams, Ellie Leach and Amanda Abbington all scoring a high 29 points each.

Strictly Come Dancing star Bobby Brazier left his proud father in tears after his very first performance in his Saturday night debut.The 20-year-old EastEnders actor took to the floor with his pro dancer, Dianne Buswell to perform the Foxtrot. Following their dance to McFly’s ‘It’s All About You’, the judges were left very impressed. Craig Revel Horwood praised Bobby for his “frame” and “storytelling”’.

Amy Dowden sent a sweet message of support to her Strictly Come Dancing co-stars as she is unable to take part in the series following her cancer diagnosis.

Strictly Come Dancing fans have been left divided by Tess Daly’s outfit as she returned to present the first live show of the series with Claudia Winkleman. In a change from the usual glamorous dresses, Tess wore a chick white shirt with black sparkly trousers.

Amanda Abbington has issued a statement insisting everything is "all good" between her and Giovanni Pernice ahead of the first Strictly Come Dancing live show.

Beyond the glitter and glitz, Strictly Come Dancing has seen its fair share of off-screen drama, reminding us that behind the scenes, not everything sparkles as brightly as it does on the dancefloor. As well as the sequins and fancy footwork, there's been a less shiny side to the show, including backstage feuds and unhappy partnerships.

Strictly Come Dancing contestant Amanda Abbington has hit back following claims she nearly quit the show due to alleged rows with her professional partner Giovanni Pernice. The actress posted a video on Instagram on Saturday morning, hours before the live show is due to air on BBC One.

Strictly Come Dancing celeb Amanda Abbington has hit out at claims that she nearly quit the BBC show after alleged rows with her professional dancing partner Giovanni Pernice. It had been reported that Amanda, who will be taking to the dance floor for the first time on Saturday, 23 September, threatened to quit before the first live show of the new series.Taking to Instagram to put the claims to bed, Amanda insisted things were “all good” between the pair and that she was “very excited and very, very nervous, but it’s all fun”.

This year's Strictly Come Dancing celebrities are in a WhatsApp chat together, revealed Zara McDermott's mum. Zara, who first found fame on Love Island, has put her dancing shoes on as she will be taking part in the 21st series of BBC competition.The 26-year-old, who is now a presenter and documentary maker, has been paired with Graziano Di Prima and will do the cha cha to Crush by Jennifer Paige on the first live show tonight (Saturday, September 23).

Zara McDermott has put the blame on her Strictly Come Dancing co-star Graziano Di Prima for her nasty injury ahead of the live shows.

Strictly Come Dancing burst back onto our screens on Saturday night as this year's celebrities made their debuts with their dancing partner, but there's already been a savage prediction made by fans. Among the likes of Love Island star, Zara McDermott, EastEnders actor Bobby Brazier and TV presenter Annabel Croft are the talented professional dancers hoping to help their partner take home this year's Glitterball trophy. The BBC One show returned on Saturday, 16 September for its pre-recorded launch show where we found out the partners and got our first glimpse of their moves.

The long-awaited moment finally arrived when Strictly Come Dancing fans found out who their favourite celebs were paired with as they battled it out on the dance floor in the opening show of the series. As well as revealing who the celebrities are paired with, Strictly opened with a dramatic performance from the fabulous professional dancers, who also performed alongside the Judges in an eye-catching routine, like never before seen on the show.The first dancing duo to be revealed was Amanda Abbington who was paired with her professional dancing partner Giovanni Pernice.