Get all your news in one place.
100’s of premium titles.
One app.
Start reading
Daily Mirror
Daily Mirror
Entertainment
Katherine Heslop

Strictly's Helen Skelton suffers awkward fake tan blunder during final

Helen Skelton laughed off a fake tan malfunction during the tense Strictly final.

On live TV Helen, 39, realised her fake tan had marked her palm as she spoke to Claudia Winkleman after she and Gorka Marquez performed their jive, the Judge's Choice, for which they scored an incredible 39.

Holding up her palm for all to see, Helen, who lost out to the glitterball trophy to Hamza Yassin, told Claudia: "I've just realised the fake tan on my hand when I did that," after she gestured with her hand.

As her fellow dancers laughed, the Countryfile presenter joked: "That's Strictly people!"

Claudia then joked: "I'm not even going to show you mine."

One twitter fan commented on the faux pas: "Helen waving at us all with her fake tan hand. Love live TV #StrictlyFinal."

Helen Skelton showed the camera her fake tan line (BBC)

Later on in the show, fans were convinced Helen made a new set of digs at her ex Richie Myler.

The Countryfile presenter thrilled viewers as she and Gorka Marquez impressed with their Couple's Choice, Mein Herr from the musical Cabaret.

They wowed with their incredible routine, with many fans describing it as a revenge routine the first time around following the end of Helen and her ex's relationship.

Earlier this year, Helen announced that her marriage to Richie had ended, telling fans that he had left the family home.

Strictly fans loved Helen's 'revenge' dance (BBC)

After, the Leeds Rhinos star started dating Stephanie Thirkill, 32, the daughter of club president Andrew Thirkill.

The pair are now expecting their first child together, and fans took to Twitter to heap praise on her routine as they noticed a number of digs at her ex-husband Richie, with whom she shares three children.

"Princess Diana had a revenge dress, @HelenSkelton had a revenge dance #Strictly," one wrote, as a second added: "Never mind Princess Diana’s revenge dress. Helen has invented the revenge dance. My dance of the series. #strictly."

A third shared: "Helen’s dance very much giving her the finger to her ex boyfriend #StrictlyComeDancing."

It comes after Helen admitted Strictly has given her the confidence back after a tough year following the split.

Helen and Gorka received 39 for their judge's choice performance (BBC)

"I've found confidence and I think [Gorka] is clever in that he's never made it about being sexy," she explained, "It's about being sassy and powerful and being in control and that's a wonderfully freeing thing for anybody when they feel in control of themselves and what they're doing. So I don't think it's about being sexy, it's about being confident in your own skin and being who you are.

"The thing [Gorka] kept saying to me at the beginning that I did get to remember was 'Just own it, own it'. I was like, 'What does that even mean?' And now I get it. It's been a wonderfully liberating thing to just be happy in your own skin and your own shoes."

Sign up to read this article
Read news from 100’s of titles, curated specifically for you.
Already a member? Sign in here
Related Stories
Top stories on inkl right now
One subscription that gives you access to news from hundreds of sites
Already a member? Sign in here
Our Picks
Fourteen days free
Download the app
One app. One membership.
100+ trusted global sources.