Strictly Come Dancing’s Helen Skelton has addressed taking to the dance floor without her former dance partner Gorka Marquez.
The Countryfile presenter was partnered up with Gorka last year and made it all the way to the final however missed out on winning the Glitterball trophy.
Helen will now take to the dance floor again for the Strictly live tour but will instead be paired up with Kai Widdrington.
Speaking to The Sun, she said: "It's really difficult not to be with Gorka because we're such good friends." She told the publications she has, however, been "asking him for advice a lot" meaning it "feels like he's here".
Helen said the group who are on the live tour are "tight knit" and together they have plenty of laughs. She said: "We all talked and all had a laugh. so it's different, but it wasn't a worry and like 'oh my God what's going to happen'. We knew each other from the series, we all hung out and spoke a lot. I was very lucky Kai was able to do it."
Ellie Simmonds also spoke out, saying: "We're like family really, and it's so nice to all be together and going through this whole tour experience together and having fun. Yes, we're dancing, but actually, we're friends too."
Molly Rainford, who is dancing with her partner Carlos Gu during the live tour, added: "What everyone says about the Strictly family is so so true, and I didn't realise how true it was until I was in that position, and I couldn't have asked for a better group to go on tour with."
The live show visits venues including Leeds's First Direct Arena, Nottingham's Motorpoint Arena, the AO Arena in Manchester and Newcastle's Utilita Arena. Strictly Come Dancing Live! runs from January 20 to February 12, with 32 shows across the UK and tickets on sale now.
Read next:
- Corrie and I'm A Celeb's Sue Cleaver shows off incredible weight loss
- Emmerdale viewers call for Chas Dingle to ‘leave’ as they spot pub blunder
- New BBC drama Better filmed and set in Leeds will feature Emmerdale stars
- Leeds pensioner hopes she's finally found 'forever home' after stressful eviction from Sugar Hill estate
- 'My girlfriend saw me with my top off for first time in 8 years after dramatic weight loss' says Wakefield man
