Strictly Come Dancing bosses are said to have been left disappointed by Sheridan Smith after she 'dropped out' of the show's Christmas special at the last minute.
When news of this year's festive episode was first revealed, fans were told to expect a ballroom duet between Cilla, Cleaning Up and Funny Girl actress Sheridan and Gary Barlow of their new single How Christmas Is Supposed To Be.
While's Strictly's annual Christmas special went out on BBC1 on Saturday, it was recorded weeks ago, with plans thrown into disarray by Sheridan's decision not to appear, forcing Gary to perform alone and change his song choice.
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A source told The Sun: "The Beeb were given notice quite late in the day that Sheridan wouldn’t be able to film on Tuesday after all.
“So it’ll just be Gary performing on his own. They’re gutted.”
The millions who tuned into Strictly on Christmas Day saw Take That star Gary perform alone, doing a cover of Paul McCartney's Wonderful Christmastime.
And hosts Tess Daly and Claudia Winkleman failed to explain why Sheridan wasn't there.
Like producers, fans were left disappointed by Sheridan's no show.
Taking to Twitter, one posted: "Would have been nice to have seen Sheridan Smith on Strictly Come Dancing’s Christmas show performing alongside Gary Barlow this Christmas Day.
"Had been disappointed not to see her on the Christmas show."
As well as seeing Gary and fellow musical guest Jamie Cullum perform in the Strictly ballroom, viewers saw singer and Brit Award winner Anne-Marie take the Christmas Glitterball trophy after she and pro partner Graziano Di Prima earned a perfect score for their cha cha cha to Feliz Navidad.
Anne-Marie got the same score as Mel Giedroyc, who also got 40 for her Couple's Choice to Ice Ice Baby alongside Neil Jones, but after the judges scores were combined by the studio audience vote, it was the Ciao Adios singer who triumphed.
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