It’s time to get glitterball glam because Strictly Come Dancing season is upon us once again.
A mark of Autumn and the welcoming of long, cosy evenings, the BBC celebrity dance competition is back for its 20th season with Tess Daly and Claudia Winkleman returning as co-hosts.
As well as a wealth of professional dancers, a whole new roster of famous faces signed up to show off their footwork in this year’s run. (You can check out the full line-up here.)
One of the members of the 2022 cast is Kym Marsh. She is coupled up with Graziano Di Prima.
Here’s what we know about Marsh, and what she has said about joining Strictly 2022...
Marsh first entered the public eye as a contestant on Popstars in 2001. She was one of five winners, and formed the short-lived pop group Hear’Say. The group achieved two number one singles with “Pure and Simple” and “The Way to Your Love”, before Marsh left to pursue a solo career.
After releasing a solo album, Marsh then found success as an actor, playing popular character Michelle Connor in Coronation Street from 2006 to 2019. Since October 2020, Marsh has co-hosted the BBC One lifestyle programme Morning Live with presenter Gethin Jones.
Speaking about her involvement in this year’s Strictly Come Dancing, Marsh said: “ Well, it’s always been a little question for me over the last four or five years, it’s been on the cards and then not happened and I felt like this year was a good year for me.
“There’s lots personal reasons why but in terms of work, I’m probably the busiest I’ve ever been, and now I’ve taken this on at the same time, which is crazy!
She continued: “My husband is in the army and he’s still based in this country at the moment, but there’s a chance that next year he’ll go away, so if I waited and did it next year, he might not be here to watch.
“Also my dad’s not very well and he would love to see me do the show and be able to come in and watch, so in order to make that happen it had to be this year.”
Their weekly leaderboard stats are...
Week one: eighth.
Week two: 10th.
Week three: fourth.
Week four: sixth
Week five: 10th
For Halloween week, Kym danced the Rumba to “Frozen” by Madonna, earning praise from the judging panel, and the following week saw Marsh saw her receive even more acclaim.
Motsi Mabuse branded her one of this year’s “strongest” competitors, with Shirley Ballas calling it “one of the most accomplished routines I’ve seen you do”.
Marsh was awarded a score of 37 – her highest ranking yet.
Having missed the ninth week due to Covid, Marsh returned to perform a Cha-cha-cha in the quarter final, earning a score of 34.
Strictly Come Dancing continues weekly on BBC One.
