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Manchester Evening News
Manchester Evening News
Entertainment
Jessica Sansome

BBC Strictly Come Dancing fans share delight as 'favourite' bit of series returns

Strictly Come Dancing fans have been left delighted as the show has brought back one of their 'favourite' things about the series. The hit BBC One show returned to screens last Friday with the much-anticipated launch show.

It was swiftly followed by the first official week of the all-sparkling dance competition on Saturday night after the launch episode was postponed due to schedule changes ahead of the Queen's funeral. Instead, the BBC showed the launch just a day before the first live show in which viewers discovered which celebrity had been paired with which professional dancer for the first time.

The first live show then saw the 15 brand new celebrities and their professional partners take to the ballroom for the first time. However, there was some good news for the stars of the show as there was no public vote, however, their first lot of judges scores would count and be carried over to week two, this Saturday, when the vote will open for the first time this series.

READ MORE: BBC Strictly Come Dancing's Giovanni Pernice responds to claims he's not getting on with Richie Anderson

And the first set of performances of the 20th series saw actor Will Mellor and wildlife presenter Hamza Yassin surprised the judges and viewers with their very routines which saw them place joint top of the leaderboard after both achieving an impressive score of 34.

Two Pints Of Lager And A Packet Of Crisps star Will performed an electric jive to Livin’ La Vida Loca by Ricky Martin with his partner Nancy Xu. Judges Motsi Mabuse and Shirley Ballas were so stunned by Will's hip-swirling performance that they gave him a standing ovation.

In contrast, Hamza and pro partner Jowita Przystal dazzled with their beautifully joyful foxtrot to Islands In The Stream by Dolly Parton and Kenny Rogers to secure their top mark.

Tess Daly and Claudia Winkleman were back hosting the show (PA)

And it appears fans can't get enough of all the Strictly action as the show's social media team got an overwhelmingly positive response with their latest post that is much-loved among fans of the show. That's right, the hidden mic complications were back and showed what the celebrities and dancers were really saying during their first routines.

"It's time for all the oohs, aahs and orcas from Week One!" the clip was captioned. There were some 'Hello's' and 'Hi's' among the pairings while a smooth James Bye handed over a record to his partner Amy Dowden at the start of their 60s-inspired Jive, saying it was 'on him'.

"Yessss, there he is," Katya Jones was heard screaming as her partner, former footballer Tony Adams, decended into the ballroom on top of a golden cannon, referring to his time at Arsenal. There was some singing to I'm Your Man from Richie Anderson before Giovanni Pernice cut the line short and shouted '1,2,3,' before radio star Richie said 'Let's go Gio,' as they did a cool handshake.

It continued with some 'woos' and 'heys' as Matt Goss told Nadiya Bychkova during their quickstep to Sir Duke: "Come on, babe!" And some of the stars of the show were sharing their thoughts.

Ellie Simmonds, who is partner with Nikita Kumzin, said: "This is hilarious," alongside a string of crying laughing emojis. Her response was echoed by co-star Fleur East while Fleur partner, new professional dancer Vito Coppola simply posted a bunch of crying laughing emojis.

And Strictly fans also shared their thoughts as they were left pleased by its return. @lilsmiffy said: "Yes been waiting for this!!" @suetiffin23 commented: "Once again, whoever is in charge of social media posts, I absolutely applaud you. Love everything you post, but these are always my absolute favourite. Well done."

@kirsty.bowie.3 shared: "This is my favourite bit about strictly." @vthompsett echoed: "This is one of my favourite Strictly things." @izzy_esiuol wrote: "Best bit of the week these @bbcstrictly !! Brightened my week!" @eddo_official posted: "I look forward to these EVERY week so happy they’re back!!"

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