They met when they were dance partners on ITV's Dancing On Ice - and on Saturday night Corrie's Samia Longchambon and ice skating husband Sylvain Longchambon were teaming up again to become dance judges at a dazzling charity show.
The Strictly-style dance contest saw eight businessmen and women and famous faces from across the north west learning to dance with professional dance partners - all in aid of Cheadle's Seashell Trust.
And they aimed to impress a panel of judges that included Coronation Street favourite Samia and husband Sylvain, alongside former Strictly Come Dancing star Dr Ranj and professional dancer Hayley Pearson.
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The event was hosted by Dr Ranj's fellow former Strictly contestant BBC Morning Live star Gethin Jones who enjoyed plenty of banter on the night while helping to raise a staggering £185,000 for the Seashell Trust, which runs a school for children and young people with complex needs.
Samia and Sylvain got truly into the swing of the judging with expert commentary of the dances - although Samia admitted if it was down to her she would have given all of the competitors a 10.
Samia said: "It was such an honour for me and Sylvain to be on the judging panel for the Strictly Seashell ball we had so much fun with Dr Ranj and Hayley on the judges' panel - all the dancers deserved a 10 from us!
"We both have a passion for performing, Sylvain is a perfectionist and has a good knowledge of rhythm and dance and hopefully I gave my thoughts on presentation and performance."
Samia, who plays Corrie's long-suffering hairdresser Maria Connor, gave an insight into her own dance experiences as she delivered her verdicts on the panel.
The contestants this year included chocolatier Oliver Dunn who opened the show with a pounding Jailhouse Rock themed jitterbug who Samia praised for his dazzling shoes and fancy footwork, saying: "I give your shoes a ten alone".
Samia and Sylvain first met when they danced together on Dancing on Ice back in 2013, and they went on to marry in 2016, with the couple parents to 7-year-old son Yves and Samia's older daughter Freya, 12.
They rocked stylish black ensembles for the glamorous ball held at The Mere resort near Knutsford in Cheshire.
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The judges' panel were all blown away by the eventual winner Emma de Sousa who is the European President of Insight, who got the perfect score of 40 for her waltz. Samia hailed the dance: "perfect - an absolute joy to watch", while Dr Ranj said the dance was "breathtakingly beautiful".
And there was also a people's champion voted by the 400 guests in the room on the night which was former design company boss Kate Bates who wowed with her American Smooth.
Samia said to Kate: "I know how hard it is to do lifts but I knew we were in for something special and you didn’t look nervous at all you just looked like you were enjoying yourself so well done."
Dancers also included Rebecca Henderson, who was cheered on by her England and Liverpool captain husband Jordan Henderson - who jetted back home to Cheshire after leading his team to a 2-0 victory over Brighton in Saturday's early kick off in the Premier Leagu.
Jordan and the couple's young daughters looked proudly on as Rebecca performed a captivating tango to Billie Eilish's Bad Girl which also saw her take on some brilliant lifts.
Rebecca said of taking on the dance challenge: "This is completely out of my comfort zone and my friends and family would agree. It wasn't until I visited Seashell that it really hit home.
"Raising funds to contribute to this incredible charity is a real privilege."
Jordan also donated an incredible prize to the charity auction on the night - for a group of up to 10 children to have a one-on-one football coaching session with him on Seashell's playing fields - which raised £7,000 on the night.
Property boss Gareth Shenton-Harold danced a high-energy vibe on the night, cheered on by family and friends including former Dancing On Ice champion Hayley Tamaddon, and other dancers competing on the night included Vicky Chawla with a sizzling samba, Greg Buckley with a quirky quick step and Tim Grogan with a cheeky cha cha.
Samia and Sylvain had first got involved with the charity when their good friend Jodie Moulding had danced as a contestant at the 2019 event - and she returned to take part in a group dance to open the show with fellow former contestants.
All of the competitors had trained at Sale's Cadman's Dance Centre for weeks in advance of the event, run by dance duo Chris and Vicky Millward who were among the professional dancers on the night.
The event, themed by HM Events, was held at The Mere hotel near Knutsford in Cheshire on Saturday night, and was able to return for the first time since 2019 after successive lockdowns.
The funds raised at the Strictly Seashell ball will go towards the Trust’s Project Transformation, which will provide the children and young people at Seashell a safe and happy environment to achieve their potential within the community.
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