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Daily Mirror
Daily Mirror
Entertainment
Stephen White

Strictly Come Dancing stars will be performing at the legendary Tower Ballroom next year

The stars of Strictly will be dancing the American super smooth next year at the legendary Tower Ballroom.

Sanding technicians have restored the dancefloor, built in 1894, to its original state as the ballroom reopens on Tuesday, January 25.

Breaking down 100 layers of lacquer and refurbishing the 30,602 blocks of oak, mahogany and walnut took three weeks.

Popular with Strictly Come Dancing fans and dancers alike, their trip to the ballroom, in Blackpool, is a series highlight.

In recent days, Strictly champ Rose Ayling-Ellis swapped her partner Giovanni Pernice for another dancer during rehearsals for the tour.

Gary King, a wood sanding technician, works to restore the floor of the historic Blackpool Tower Ballroom as part of its extensive refurbishment in Blackpool (Oli Scarff / SWNS)

The EastEnders actress, 27, will dance with Giovanni, 31, when the tour kicks off tomorrow, but she was spotted practising with co-star John Whaite.

In scenes in which host Janette Manrara joked the cast had "gone mad", several of the group had swapped their partners as they prepared for tomorrow.

Tilly Ramsay, who will be partnered with Nikita Kuzmin, started practising the Waltz with Johannes Radebe's partner John Whaite.

Then Maisie Smith, who is paired up with Kai Widdrington, danced with The Wanted's Max George, whose pro dance partner is Katya Jones.

Henry Armitage restores the floor (Oli Scarff / SWNS)

A baffled Janette said in a clip: "What is actually happening? The couples have all gone mad. They've all swapped around.

"It's the craziest partner swap ever."

The eagerly-awaited tour starts kicks off in Birmingham after which Strictly fans all over the country will be able to watch their favourite stars in action.

The ballroom's famous dancefloor (Oli Scarff / SWNS)

Speaking about Rose, who was the first deaf contestant on the show, choreographer and judge Craig Revel-Horwood told Hello! the star was continuing to have a huge impact on the Strictly brand.

He said: "It's fantastic that there will be a BSL signer at every show. This is the way forward. All entertainment should be inclusive in that way and we're really proud that we're doing it."

Craig added: "We're going to be doing Symphony again because that was just amazing. It will be really special, especially seeing it in a huge vast arena where the music is pumping and loud, then suddenly it goes silent. It's going to be awe-inspiring, I can't wait."

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