A selection of Strictly Come Dancing professionals are to hold a one-off tribute show to dancer Robin Windsor, who died earlier this year at the age of 44.
The evening will be hosted by his former celebrity partner on the BBC dancing show Lisa Riley and current Strictly judge Anton Du Beke, and has been created by dancers Pasha Kovalev and Anya Garnis – with the permission of Windsor’s family.
All profits from the show, named Robin Windsor: The Final Act, will go to mental health charity Sane, which Windsor worked with as an ambassador while serving as a dancer on the BBC One show between 2010 and 2013.
Speaking ahead of the November 3 show on Good Morning Britain, Kovalev said: “It feels like he is always around, it’s strange. But it feels like he’s always guiding.
“I think it’s still settling, the realisation that he is not with us.”
The performance will feature appearances from Deborah Meaden, Beverley Knight, Marisha Wallace, Joanne Clifton, Vincent Simone, Lance Ellington, Lauren Oakley, Kai Widdrington, Aljaz Skorjanec and Janette Manrara.
Announcing the show, Kovalev and Garnis said Windsor was “loved by all who knew him”.
They said: “We worked alongside him throughout his incredible career, sharing many stages together.
“This show is a way for his friends from across the dance world to come together and honour him through what he loved the most – dance and music.
“The tribute is not only a celebration of his life but also a way to raise awareness of mental health, reminding everyone that hope is always within reach.”
The show will be held at the Theatre Royal Drury Lane in London and tickets are available on the LW Theatres website.
During his time on Strictly, Windsor was partnered with Patsy Kensit and Anita Dobson as well as Riley, and won the 2011 Children In Need special with presenter Susanna Reid.
He was also partnered with Alison Hammond and Sara Cox on Strictly Christmas specials and is the only person to have featured on Broadway, the West End and Strictly Come Dancing in the same year.
It comes after a number of professional dancers announced they would be paying tribute to Windsor during the Legends of The Dance Floor tour, which is taking place across England and Scotland this October with dancers Brendan Cole, James Jordan, Kovalev and Ian Waite.
The popular dancing programme recently faced controversy following allegations made about professional dancer Giovanni Pernice by his former celebrity partner Amanda Abbington.
The corporation launched an investigation and said last month that it had assessed and “upheld some, but not all” of her complaints.
