Have Yourself a Strictly Christmas!

The season of joy and good will is almost upon us and soon you will be engulfed in a whirlwind of festive parties, Christmas shopping, tree decorating, mince pie eating and much more. To avoid any Yuletide dddddiiiiiiaaaaassssttttteeeerrrrrs darling and continue tra-la-la-laaing through to the New Year, there is only one golden rule- plan ahead! Plan your presents, plan the turkey and most importantly plan your TV viewing! For there should be no squabbles over the remote this Christmas Day as the first thing you will be scheduling in of course, is the Strictly Come Dancing festive special.

As Strictly 2013 reaches Week 10, only seven celebrities remain and the dreaded end is edging ever closer. The sequined ghost of Strictly future however, have revealed that there is no need for despair. The line-up for Strictly’s Christmas extravaganza has been announced this week and it’s a cracker! So even after the glitterball has been raised you can still get your fix of fake tan and dancing shoes. Shimmying this year under the mistletoe will be:

1. Rochelle Humes: A member of the girl group The Saturdays, Rochelle started her career in S Club Juniors. Having already featured in Strictly Come Dancing Children in Need (2010) she will once again partner Ian Waite in an attempt to raise the Christmas trophy.
2. Ricky Norwood: Famous for his role as Fatboy on Eastenders Ricky has already given us a taster of his twinkle toes this year, as alongside Shona McGarty (Whitney) he demonstrated his break-dancing and body popping skills as part of Eastender’s Children in Need special. This Christmas he will be dancing with Strictly newcomer Janette Manrara.
3. Elaine Paige: West end actress and radio broadcaster Elaine has walked the boards as Grizabella in Cats, Anna Leonowens in The King and I, Sheila in Hair etc. In 2008 she performed the Tango with rugby player Matt Dawson for Sports Relief does Strictly Come Dancing. This time she will take to the dance floor with Pasha Kovalov.
4. Matt Goss: Lead singer of the 80s pop band Bros Matt is now a solo singer/song writer. He performed the Bros’ hit When Will I be Famous on Strictly in October, but this time he will be swapping his microphone for dance shoes and taking to the floor with Aliona Vilani.
5. Sara Cox: Presenter of BBC Radio One’s Breakfast Shoe Sarah has recently been covering for Fearne Cotton who is on maternity leave. Sarah is the only contestant completely new to the world of glitterballs and will be partnered with Robin Windsor.
6. Rufus Hound: Comedian and actor Rufus Hound is known for his role as a regular panellist on Celebrity Juices. In 2010 he appeared on Let’s Dance for Sports Relief beating last year’s Strictly Christmas Special contestant Katy Brand with his Cheryl Cole routine. He will be dancing with Flavia Cacace.

The show will also feature a Winter Wonderland number filmed at LaplandUK. The celebrities began training this week but we will have to wait until Christmas Day to see who will join the likes of John Barrowmen, Charlie Brooks and last year’s winner JB Gill of JLS. So make sure you reserve the TV, here at Dancewear Central we booked the sofa in September!