Strictly Come Dancing star Fleur East has joked there was a 'third person' in her dance with professional partner Vito Coppola at the weekend. Saturday night's edition of the BBC One dance contest saw the show's remaining 12 couples pay homage to the BBC as it marked its centenary on October 18.
As the broadcaster marked 100 years on air, the dance competition marked the occasion with routines to classic BBC theme songs and references to popular shows. Helen Skelton reminisced over her Blue Peter days as she performed to the show's theme tune by Mike Oldfield while Kiss FM DJ Tyler West brought a haunting atmosphere to the dancefloor as they danced the tango to the Doctor Who theme tune.
There were also performance inspired by EastEnders, Grange Hill, Line of Duty and The Apprentice while former Corrie star Kym Marsh and her partner Graziano Di Prima honoured Strictly’s predecessor show, Come Dancing, as they performed a quickstep to Sweet’s Ballroom Blitz.
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Fleur and Vito, however, came joint third on the leaderboard with a score of 32 points for their performance to Waterloo by Abba, which won the Swedish pop group the Eurovision Song Contest in 1974 in Brighton. In traditional Eurovision style, Graham Norton introduced the pair who were dressed in classic Abba style with fringed, sequinned outfits and knee-high white boots as they jived across the floor.
Craig Revel Horwood said it was “slightly heavy-footed” but praised Fleur's energy and the routine. Meanwhile, some Strictly viewers felt it may have been unfair as the couple were able to dance to a regular song and didn't face the challenge of a theme tune like many of the other pairings.
But when speaking to Janette Manrara on Strictly spin-off It Tales Two on Wednesday evening (October 26), Fleur and Vito revealed they faced a different kind of challenge. After saying the dance was the "the most fun we've had", Fleur claimed her dance partner's wig was a bit of a distraction.
"Vito's wig - thank you for bringing it up Fleur!" Janette cheered before adding: 2I was going to ask I was slightly distracted - were you directed by the wig at all?" Hits Radio host Fleur replied: "Oh yeah, the whole time he was adding in new steps and I was like 'we didn't do that in rehearsal.'"
Vito laughed: "There were two of us dancing - me, her, and the wig." Janette then revealed: "I saw you backstage with the wig on and I almost went to laugh and you said 'don't.'"
Meanwhile, following her appearance on It Takes Two, Fleur revealed exactly what goes on behind-the-scenes in a cheeky clip. The former X Factor star videod walking into the dressing room backstage at the BBC2 show when she came across Vita changing his clothes.
As he took off his trousers to stand in his white boxers, Ellie Simmonds appeared and pretended to whip the Italian professional dancer with a belt. "Woo," the Strictly star and former Paralympic swimmer cheekily said before Vito turned around with a shocked face.
A giggling Ellie, who looked gorgeous in a green dress and black heels, then ran away as Fleur followed her with the camera. As she laughed, Fleur screeched: "Ellie!" before the video ended and left fans wanting more on their backstage antics. During Ellie's appearance on It Takes Two with Nikita Kuzmin, the pair told Janette that waiting to find out who might be in the dreaded dance-off is even more nail-biting for them because there is another Ellie in the competition.
Comedian Ellie Taylor is partnered by Johannes Radebe and there's confusion when the name 'Ellie' is read out as the red light of doom circles the studio. And Ellie and Nikita have requested a change. "I love Ellie and Johannes but everytime, these guys scare us so much," said Nikita as Ellie added: "Could they change it and put Nikita and then Ellie and then Johannes and then Ellie? Swap it round please. Do it just for us."
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