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Evening Standard
Evening Standard
Entertainment
Isobel Frodsham

Strictly Come Dancing stars arrive in Blackpool ahead of special episode this weekend

The Strictly Come Dancing contestants have arrived in Blackpool ahead of the special episode on Saturday.

The seven contestants will sashay onto the ballroom this weekend as the final dancers are whittled down to the final three.

Earlier today the celebrities chronicled their train journey with their dance partners on Instagram.

RuPaul’s Drag Race judge Michelle Visage posted a photograph of herself with her dance partner Giovanni Pernice, former England pro footballer Alex Scott and her partner Neil Jones and comedian Chris Ramsey and his partner Karen Clifton.

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Friends headed to BLACKPOOL! 🎢💃Yaaaaassss

A post shared by Michelle Visage (@michellevisage) on

Meanwhile Saffron Barker posted a video of her dance partner, AJ Pritchard, eating while wearing an eye mask on his head.

Later on, the group headed to Blackpool Pleasure Beach took an opportunity to ride on the roller coasters.

Over the years, several Strictly contestants have danced on the Blackpool Tower Ballroom.

It is a key moment in the series for the stars and the pros as it marks the final few weeks in the competition.

The first two series of Strictly were filmed entirely at the ballroom. The show then changed venue due to "logistical problems" and later returned for some episodes from 2009 to 2011.

As of 2013, at least one episode of Strictly is filmed in Blackpool.

And this weekend also marks a new stage of the competition as the stars will use dancers for the first time in their performances.

Scott, 35, and Barker, 19, gave their Instagram followers a sneak preview of their hotly anticipated dances with their partners.

Scott and Jones, 37, will be dancing the Paso Doble to hit song, Run the World.

Barker and AJ, 25, are going to dance the Quickstep to Marvellous Party by Beverley Knight.

Meanwhile Emma Barton and Anton Du Beke will take on the American Smooth to Let’s Face the Music and Dance by Ella Fitzgerald.

Last week saw BBC presenter Mike Bushell and his partner Katya Jones leave the competition after they faced off with Visage and Pernice in the bottom two.

Strictly Come Dancing continues on November 16 at 7.05pm on BBC One, with the results show at 7.15pm on November 17.

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