AS WE JOIN THEM AT TOUR REHEARSALS ‘STRICTLY’ PROFESSIONALS TELL WHY THEY ARE ONE BIG FAMILY
INTERVIEWS: MEGAN BULL PHOTOS: MARC BRENNER Strictly Come Dancing: The Professionals UK Tour runs from 2 to 31 May. For tickets, visit strictlytheprofessionals.com.
EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEWS AND PHOTOS
T here’s a buzz of excitement in the air when HELLO! joins the dance stars of Strictly Come Dancing during rehearsals for their The Professionals UK tour.
“It’s always so much fun when we all come together like this,” says Karen Hauer, taking a break for our exclusive chat.
Strictly’s longest-reigning professional dancer, who joined the show in 2012, has been reunited with her co-stars – Gorka Márquez, Neil Jones, Dianne Buswell, Jowita Przystal, Nikita Kuzmin, Luba Mushtuk, Vito Coppola, Nancy Xu and Carlos Gu – and tells us: “We’re like brothers and sisters.”
The close-knit cast have been leaning on each other more than ever after the passing of former Strictly head judge Len Goodman at the age of 78 in April, following a diagnosis of bone cancer.
Karen echoes their sentiments when she says: “He was a gentleman on the ballroom and off, and an inspiration to all of us dancers as a judge and as a human being.
“From the moment I met Len, he was warm and caring and he made me feel right at home in Strictly,” she adds.
TOP MARKS
Karen’s love of dancing has spilt over into her personal life – she has been teaching her new husband Jordan Wyn-Jones to dance.
“Bless him, he’s a three!” she says, giving Jordan, whom she married in a ceremony covered exclusively by HELLO! last summer, a Strictly score out of ten.
When it comes to the action at today’s rehearsals, however, it’s tens all round.
As world-class dancers at the top of their game, the talented cast of professionals are determined to make this year’s tour the best it can be – and promise that audiences are in for a treat.
The show brings together unrivalled choreography, stunning costumes and sparkling sets, with 35 performances across the country, from the Bonus Arena in Hull to the London Palladium.
“It’s bigger and better this year,” Luba tells us, while Nikita adds: “We are the best entertainment show on television and we owe it to the audience to create something special; to give back all of the love that they give to us throughout the whole season.”
DAD DANCING
Gorka, who is dad to daughter, Mia, three, with his radio presenter fiancée Gemma Atkinson, is looking forward to the arrival of their second child – a baby boy – this year.
“We are very excited,” he says. “Every pregnancy is different. With Mia, it
