OHMYGOSSIP — Rak-Su have a catalogue of songs they’ve written and are ready to release.
Fans of the four piece – made up of childhood friends Mustafa Rahimtulla, Ashley Fongho, Jamaal Shurland and Myles Stephenson – may not have to wait too long to hear some new music from them as they’ve revealed they’ve already got loads of tracks they penned before and during the competition that are ready to drop.
Speaking on ‘Lorraine’ on Monday (04.12.17), Ashley said: “We have a got a backlog [of songs] but we always want to better ourselves so we write every single day …
“That’s the good thing about ‘X Factor’ – we have to write songs every week and you write four or five and only one will get used so we’ve got other stuff we can go back to.”
The band’s mentor Simon Cowell is convinced they will become as big as One Direction – who finished third in the 2010 series of the show, have gone on to sell more than 70 million records – and, although they were the early favourites, they never expected to win the show and were just using the competition for “exposure.”
Ashley explained: “I think for us, we knew who we wanted to be and we knew who we wanted to be going onto the show and obviously we saw it as a good opportunity to get some exposure for ourselves, we didn’t know it was going to go this far. I think we were just fortunate in that when we said we wanted to do our own songs, the staff were kind of like: ‘OK, if it’s really what you want to do, it’s a risk but fine.’ ”
And for the first time ever, the band – who beat Grace Davies to the crown – are releasing their own original song ‘Dimelo’, which features Wyclef Jean and Naughty Boy, as the winners’ single. Proceeds from the song will go to children’s hospice charities Together for Short Lives and Shooting Star Chase.

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OHMYGOSSIP — Richard Hammond has hinted he’s keen to do ‘Strictly Come Dancing’.
The ‘Grand Tour’ presenter has sparked rumours he’s in talks with producers about taking part in the ballroom and latin competition next year after he was spotted sitting in the audience for the musical-themed routines on Saturday (02.12.17).
A source told the Daily Star newspaper: “A lot of celebrities who come to see the show and say they are fans get a private chat with producers and end up in sequins and glitter the following year.”
And if he does agree to do next year’s series, it will come just over 12 months since he was left temporarily wheelchair bound after he careered off a hilltop in Switzerland while travelling at 120mph.
The 47-year-old petrol head was left with a fractured knee in June when his £2 million supercar tumbled down a slope in the Swiss Alps before bursting into flames, leaving him badly shaken.
He said recently: “My family haven’t seen the latest crash. I don’t think they ever will. Mindy won’t want to watch it, because she will just be really, really cross.”
Richard – who is father to daughters Isabella, 16, and Willow, 13 – says his wife Mindy has told him he’s only got one more strike and he feels it would be irresponsible to take part in any more races.
He explained: “I don’t think it would be well-received if I do it again …
“Mindy is very patient and knows my primary job is as a husband and father to our daughters, and she knows that’s the most important thing in my life and I’m not going to mess that up and risk it.
“She also knows I am not just there to support my daughters materially, but for them to realise, ‘Wow, I can do something exciting with my life.’ I want them to think, ‘If that little idiot can travel the world on all his adventures, I can realise my dreams.’ Your job as a father or a mother is not just to change nappies – your job is to inspire them. You’re their first exposure to adult life, so if they see you bored and frustrated and unfulfilled, that’s not so good.”

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OHMYGOSSIP — Davood Ghadami never expected to “enjoy wearing glitter and sequins” as much as he did when he was competing on ‘Strictly Come Dancing’.
The ‘EastEnders’ star – who is known for playing Kush Kazemi in the long-running soap – was given the boot from the ballroom and latin competition last night (03.12.17) after he failed to impress the judges in his dance-off against Alexandra Burke.
But, although he’s devastated to have left the show, he’s glad he got to work with Nadiya Bychkova and will miss slipping into fancy costumes every weekend.
Taking to his Twitter account after his shock exit, he said: “A huge thank you…to all who voted, to everyone @bbcstrictly and to @NadiyaBychkova for the last 3 months.I never dreamed I would make it this far.I never knew dancing could be so rewarding.I never thought id enjoy wearing glitter and sequins quite so much (sic).”
He then went on to thank the band for playing his music every single week.
He added: “The @SCDband is incredible…the beating heart of @bbcstrictly … thank you for the music… (sic).”
And, although Nadiya – who only joined the show as professional dancer in September – didn’t get to win the programme this time around, she has admitted she feels “so lucky” to have been paired with the 35-year-old actor and is sure they will remain friends for “life” because he’s such an “amazing person.”
She tweeted: “You are my winner @DavoodGhadami I feel so lucky I had you as my dance partner. You such an amazing person. A friend for life. Thank you (sic).”
Meanwhile, Davood is now looking forward to relaxing with his daughters Eva and Grace and his wife Isobel ahead of a busy festive season
He said: “I’m going to spend the next couple of weeks at home dancing with my two beautiful girls who are now huge fans of the show.”

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OHMYGOSSIP — James Arthur has hit out at ‘The X Factor’ finalists for being described as “brave” for performing their own songs.
The 29-year-old singer – who won the TV talent show in 2012 – took to Twitter during last night’s (03.12.17) showpiece, which saw Rak-Su beat off competition from Grace Davies to win the latest series, to air his frustrations, insisting this year’s contestants had an “advantage”.
He wrote: “Let’s be honest, this is the first year contestants have been allowed to do their own songs. Let’s stop saying how brave these guys are, it’s an advantage and respect to them for being able to do it (sic)”
Rak-Su performed original tunes ‘Touche’ and ‘Mona Lisa’ in the final and Grace sang her own songs, ‘Nothing But Words’ and ‘Too Young’.
After Rak-Su’s final performance, show boss Simon Cowell admitted not many contestants with “this much at stake” would’ve performed their own track.
He said: “Not many artists with this much at stake rather than just doing something before, or doing an old song, you stuck to yourselves.
“You wrote your own song, and not many people do that.”
In July, it was reported Simon had decided to encourage this year’s acts to perform their own material following similar success on ‘Britain’s Got Talent’.
A source said at the time: “Simon knows he can’t change the format too much, but one thing he and the contestants can change is what’s sung.
“If there’s lots of new material it could attract a new audience.
“Original songs by young performers have generally been well received on ‘Britain’s Got Talent’ too, so it seems a risk worth taking.”

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OHMYGOSSIP — Simon Cowell has hailed ‘The X Factor’ winners Rak-Su as the new One Direction.
The group – made up of childhood friends Mustafa Rahimtulla, Ashley Fongho, Jamaal Shurland and Myles Stephenson – stormed to victory on the show on Sunday night (03.12.17) – and now Simon thinks they have what it takes to become global superstars.
The music mogul told The Sun newspaper: “There’s an awful lot of artists in entertainment who appear nice in front of the cameras but behind them they’re monsters.
“Not these guys. These guys have that same thing as 1D, a certain class.
“The group are so important to the show for that reason.
“When you have people like these guys who have ambition it’s great and there’s this wonderful afterglow.”
One Direction, who finished third in the 2010 series of the show, have gone on to sell more than 70 million records and in 2016 Forbes magazine listed them as the second-highest earning celebrities in the world, after Taylor Swift.
Rak-Su, all aged 25 and 26, claim to have already been inundated with attention from adoring fans.
Beatboxer Mustafa, 26, said: “Someone asked if they could sniff our socks.
“I don’t know how we were gonna make this happen but believe it or not we didn’t really explore that option.”
The quartet beat 20-year-old singer/songwriter Grace Davies to be crowned this year’s ‘X Factor’ winners.
For the first time, both finalists sang original songs in the last show of the series, as they had done throughout the process, with Grace performing ‘Nothing But Words’, and ‘Too Young’, and Rak-Su impressing with their tracks ‘Touché’ and ‘Mona Lisa’.
And the group’s debut single will also be one of their own, ‘Dimelo’, which features Wyclef Jean and Naughty Boy, who they performed alongside on Saturday’s (02.12.17) show.
They also sang the track again to close out the final, with their fellow finalists joining them on stage to celebrate midway through the performance.
Proceeds from the single will go to children’s hospice charities Together for Short Lives and Shooting Star Chase.

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OHMYGOSSIP — Kezia Dugdale has been voted off ‘I’m A Celebrity… Get Me Out Of Here!’.
The Scottish MP – who was a late entrant onto the show along with Iain Lee – became the second celebrity to leave camp on Sunday (03.12.17) evening’s show after receiving the lowest number of public votes.
But the 36-year-old politician wasn’t upset about being out of the show so early.
She said: “I feel right as rain. Relieved. I would be happy to stay but also happy to go.”
Kez explained she had gone on the show to prove not all politicians are “male and stale”.
She said: “It was important for me to come and talk about the things I believe in.
“And also take on the myth that all politicians look like Stanley [Johnson], old, white, male and stale.”
Though she enjoyed being on the show, Kez admitted the “boredom” of camp life did get to her at times.
She said: “I’d like to think I didn’t overstep the mark too often… the boredom in there is the killer.”
The MP backed boxer Amir Khan to be named King of the Jungle this year, though she’d like to see one of the other female contestants pip him to it.
Asked by hosts Ant and Dec who she thinks will win, she said: “I think the final three will be Amir, Becky [Vardy] and Toff. I think Amir’s going to win but I’d like one of the girls to.”
Comic Shappi Korsandi was the first evictee of the series, leaving camp two days ago, but Jack Maynard left the show a week before then following allegations over past conduct which came to light.

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OHMYGOSSIP — Rak-Su have won ‘The X Factor’.
The quartet were overcome with emotion when host Dermot O’Leary revealed they had beaten Grace Davies to take the crown at the ExCel in London on Sunday (03.12.17) evening.
The band members – which comprise Mustafa, Ashley, Jamaal and Myles – thanked their family and friends for their support on hearing the news, while their mentor, Simon Cowell, was delighted for the “gentlemen”.
Simon said: “Congratulations to Grace, and obviously, to you guys, Rak-Su, you are gentlemen, you are stars. And to everyone who voted, thank you.”
For the first time, both finalists sang original songs in the last show of the series, as they had done throughout the process, with Grace performing ‘Nothing But Words’, and ‘Too Young’, and Rak-Su impressing with their tracks ‘Touché’ and ‘Mona Lisa’.
And the group’s debut single will also be one of their own, ‘Dimelo’, which features Wyclef Jean and Naughty Boy, who they performed alongside on Saturday’s (02.12.17) show.
They also sang the track again to close out the final, with their fellow finalists joining them on stage to celebrate midway through the performance.
Proceeds from the single will go to children’s hospice charities Together for Short Lives and Shooting Star Chase.
Tonight’s final also saw a number of guest performances, with Little Mix – the only other group to ever win the show, taking the crown in 2011 – performing ‘Power’ before being joined by CNCO for ‘Reggaeton Lento’.
In addition, Pink took to the stage to showcase her singles ‘Beautiful Trauma and ‘What About Us’ and Sam Smith sang his latest track ‘One Last Song’.

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OHMYGOSSIP — Kem Cetinay and Amber Davies have split up.
The ‘Love Island’ stars – whose relationship saw them win the show this summer – have vowed to remain good friends after ending their four-month romance, claiming they split due to their working commitments.
They said in a statement: “With sadness, we’ve decided to separate.
“We fell in love in the villa and want to thank all the fans of the show for supporting us.
“Our schedules made it difficult. We’ll remain good friends.”
But insiders revealed 21-year-old Kem – who is busy training for the upcoming new series of ‘Dancing on Ice’ and Amber, 20, had had a string of furious rows, made worse by the fact they were living together in Essex.
A source told The Sun newspaper: “They’ve been at each other’s necks for the past month.
“They’ve been living on top of each other and clashed over the smallest things.
“It’s also been very hard for them to see each other with their hectic schedules.
“They tried to make it work but realised they want different things and being together was too tough.”
The news of a split came shortly after it was claimed the pair had blocked one another on social media following an argument.
A source recently said: “They have been arguing a lot recently and things finally came to a head on Saturday.
“Amber was out with some of the girls from ‘Love Island’ — Olivia Attwood and Georgia Harrison — so blocked Kem on social media to try and enjoy a stress free evening.
“It was just a silly argument — Kem even sent Amber some flowers to make things right again between them.”

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OHMYGOSSIP — Davood Ghadami has been eliminated from ‘Strictly Come Dancing’.
The ‘EastEnders’ actor and his professional partner Nadiya Bychkova have become the tenth couple to leave the competition after facing off against Alexandra Burke and Gorka Marquez in the dance-off.
After Davood and Nadiya performed their ‘Phantom of the Opera’ Argentine Tango again while the ‘Bad Boys’ singer and her partner re-did their Charleston to ‘Supercalifragilistic’, thejudges unanimously chose to save Alexandra and Gorka.
Craig Revel Horwood said: “This couple were out there on a mission and completely and utterly nailed it. That couple is Alexandra and Gorka.”
Darcey Bussell agreed and said: “Both couples gave 100% tonight and it’s tough to see anybody go but there was one performance that totally outshined the other and that was Alexandra and Gorka.”
And Bruno Tonioli simply told them: “The strongest, more powerful, overall better. Alexandra and Gorka.”
Head Judge Shirley Ballas said she agreed with her fellow judges and would have also saved Alexandra and Gorka.
Despite being out of the competition, Davood left with a smile on his face as he admitted he’d done much better than he expected.
He said: “When asked by Tess if he had enjoyed her time on the show, Davood said: “There have been so many highlights I’ve had, honestly the best time.
“I never thought I’d get this far which is why I’m smiling as I never thought I’d reach this point. I never thought I’d get to see and meet such amazing people.
“We’re all mates, every comment I’ve ever received good and bad, and to dance in front of audiences like this has been a real gift and I’ve never done anything like this before so it’s been an unforgettable experience.”
The 32-year-old actor went on to pay tribute to his wife Isobel and their two daughters, as well as his dance partner.
He said: “I’m going to spend the next couple of weeks at home dancing with my two beautiful girls who are now huge fans of the show.
“It’s all because of one person and I also need to thank so many people, my beautiful family, my wife who’s been running Team Ghadami whilst we’ve been doing this, but this is Nadiya’s first year on this show and I think she’s done incredibly well.
“She’s done brilliant choreography, she’s a brilliant dancer and she’s a great teacher and now she’s a really good friend and I’m so privileged to have met her, thank you!”
The remaining five couples will perform two dances in the semi-final next week.

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OHMYGOSSIP — Dame Judi Dench is finding it difficult to watch her own movies.
The 82-year-old actress has been battling with macular degeneration, which causes a person to experience a gradual loss of vision, and admits it is “not so much fun” to watch films as she misses some parts of the movie.
Speaking at the Santa Barbara International Film Festival in California, where she was honoured for her long career, she said: “I do go [to the movies] but a friend of mine usually has to say, ‘He’s kissing her now’ or, ‘He’s walking away. A lot of things I miss. It’s not so much fun.”
It comes after Judi admitted she struggles to read the scripts at time and has to have it printed in extra large font but insists it won’t make her give up on her career.
She explained: “I just want to go on being mobile really and able to do things. I’m not going to be beaten by my eyes for instance.
“I have macular degeneration, which means treatment every six weeks, but you just have to settle for it. On my scripts, my font is point-size 22, so you can imagine…if we’re doing a sonnet of 14 lines, all the others will have one page and I’ll have 14. It’s ridiculous, it’s a farce, but I’m not going to give in.”
Judi also finds it very therapeutic when she paints.
She shared: “She shared: “I paint a lot and now I find it very, very difficult because if I look at something and then look back here, my eyes don’t adjust quickly enough to actually transfer that.
“Then I thought, ‘That’s what’s painting is about. You should paint what you see.’ And therefore it doesn’t matter – don’t translate it literally, translate it in the only way you can. It’s a different system.”

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OHMYGOSSIP — Mark Hamill doesn’t think being Luke Skywalker “dominates” his career.
The 66-year-old actor won’t let himself be defined by his role in the ‘Star Wars’ franchise and insists he isn’t “bothered” by it as he never expected to be remembered for anything he’s done in his career.
He said: “I don’t see Luke domi­nating my career. It just doesn’t bother me, because I didn’t expect to be remembered for anything. I wanted to be a character actor, and about all the best character actors, people say, ‘Oh, that guy, I can’t remember his name.’
“Look at Richard Riehle. He is as solid as it gets, always word-perfect. He knows his lines and he knows yours. He is the most incredibly versatile actor. Those are the people I really admire.”
However, the ‘Star Wars: The Force Awakens’ actor did recall one time where he was refused a role because of his Star Wars success.
He added: “I could have done Amadeus the film. Milos Forman had me over to his suite. He was interviewing people to play Constanze, Mozart’s wife, and I was in his suite from nine in the ­morning until six at night.
“At lunch, I asked him flat out, ‘Milos, why can’t you consider me to play Mozart – because I’ve done it on Broadway?’ He said, ‘Oh, Mark, no one is going to believe that Luke Skywalker is Mozart.'”
Mark is thrilled with how well the science fiction franchise has been received over the years and thinks that is due to the fact that people are looking for “escapism”.
He told The Sunday Times’ Culture magazine: “People need escapism. They need to be able to get to a happy place, whether it’s Oz or Middle-earth or Hogwarts – or a galaxy far, far away. It’s an escape from the dreary reality of life. I totally understand it.”

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OHMYGOSSIP — Jodie Foster needs a year off after each acting role.
The 54-year-old star admitted she finds it much easier to recover after completing a directing job than she does when she’s been working on screen.
She said: “The thing with directing is that it’s hard, it’s difficult and taxing, but once I’ve had a good sleep for about five days, I’m ready to get on the boat again.
“As an actor? I have to go on vacation for a year – a year minimum – before I’m ready to come back.”
The ‘Silence of the Lambs’ star – who has sons Charlie, 19, and Kit, 16, with former partner Cydney Bernard and is married to photographer Alexandra Hedison – frequently takes breaks from her career because she thinks it is important to invest her time in relationships with the people who matter to her.
She said: “Sometimes people say, ‘Gosh, you only act once every three years, what have you been doing?’ I scratch my head and say, ‘What have I been doing? Have I been water-skiing? No. Have I been learning to use the computer? No.’
“There’s a lot of time that goes into being a good mother, a good daughter, a good friend. Listening to other people and what they’re going through. And saying, ‘I can take care of that.’ I want to have that time open. If I fill it up with a bunch of trivial things – even things I could make money for – I feel like I won’t have time to be the person I hope all this is for. That’s what I try to do.”

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OHMYGOSSIP — Pink doesn’t think she’s “diplomatic” enough to be an ‘X Factor’ judge.
The ‘Just Give Me A Reason’ hitmaker – who will perform during the show’s final on Sunday night (03.12.17) – doesn’t think she’s the right person for the judging panel for a show like the ‘X Factor’ as she wouldn’t want to be mean to anyone but also wouldn’t want to “bulls**t anyone” either.
She told The Sun on Sunday newspaper: “Would I be an X Factor judge? Nope. I’m not ­diplomatic and I wouldn’t be helpful. I would be so uncomfortable the whole time because I wouldn’t want to be mean to anyone, but then I wouldn’t want to bulls**t anyone. Everyone who does it is so talented and nice – they can have it.”
And that will no doubt be music to Simon Cowell’s ears as he only recently revealed he is already considering having five people on the ‘X Factor’ judging panel after Cheryl Tweedy said she would like to make a return to the show full time.
Simon, though, is torn as he does like the current line up, which is himself, Louis Walsh Nicole Scherzinger and Sharon Osbourne.
He explained: “Nothing’s a done deal and I do like this panel. But the good news is that now more people want to do the show than before. Is Cheryl keen to come back? She is, yes – I guess she is. I think I’ll go into the New Year and then see how everyone feels. In the past, I’ve had to beg ­people to do the show, and it wasn’t always that easy. People would do it for a ­season, and say, ‘Right, I’m not coming back.’ But now it’s easier to do the show, it’s much more fun. Maybe I’ll have five people on the panel.”

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OHMYGOSSIP — Debbie McGee has hit back at her critics who say she has an unfair advantage on ‘Strictly Come Dancing’ because she trained in ballet when she was younger.
The 59-year-old star – who has been wowing both the judges and the public with her energetic routines with Giovanni Pernice on the show – finds it so frustrating when people say her dancing background gives her the edge.
She said: “People say that really have no understanding of dance. When I did ballet, I stopped as a dancer when I was about 23. That training in a way is a disadvantage because the muscles were trained differently. I haven’t done that for over 30 years. It’s a bit like a footballer who gives up in his twenties, then asking him when he’s in his sixties to go and be in a football match. Or an athlete to go and run a marathon – you can’t. The technique is so different.
“People keep saying to me I make it look so easy on a Saturday. They don’t realise the training that I put in during the week, and how awful I am on Monday – and the progress I make between a Monday and a Saturday. You need to ask Giovanni. I feel exasperated for him. I’m sure every Monday he thinks, ‘She’s never going to get this’ and ‘She’s never going to get the techniques’. But I work at it until I’ve got it.”
And Debbie has also poured cold water on the rumours she is anything more than friends with Giovanni.
She told the Sunday Mirror newspaper: “For a woman of my age, it was very flattering people think that there might be more. I do have a little chuckle to myself. We have the greatest working partnership. We do have chemistry, we’re great mates and I think that’s more special than if there was anything else going on. People want me to be in a relationship with him, and I’m really sorry to disappoint them.”

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OHMYGOSSIP — Gemma Collins wants to lose weight so she can have a baby.
The ‘Only Way Is Essex’ star is desperate to ditch the pounds so she can follow her dream to become a mother.
She said: “Size 24 is the biggest I’ve ever been – the most famous I’ve ever been and the most popular. Next year I do want to knuckle down because it is going to be a struggle – I desperately want a baby and I would struggle to have the baby the way I am now.
“I had devastating news on Towie last year when they said my egg count was low. Well, having a low egg count and being overweight are no-gos. I’m not saying I’ll get to a size ten but I do need to lose weight. For my health I wouldn’t want to be bigger than I am now.”
And Gemma admits her weight loss journey is “twice as hard” because she suffers from polycystic ovary syndrome.
She added: “Eating-wise I can go all day without eating, which isn’t good. Today I’ve only eaten a banana and a bagel. But with the long hours filming Towie, we get pizzas delivered on-set. My insulin levels are very high in my body. To lose weight is also twice as hard with polycystic ovary syndrome. It’s constantly a battle but it is a battle that I feel I will overcome.”
However, Gemma insists she won’t be having any of the more quick fix solutions such as a gastric band and wants to be able to do it naturally.
She told The Sun on Sunday newspaper: “I refuse to have a gastric band, as easy as it would be. I have overcome so many things in my life and I will overcome my weight – but I need time and focus to do it.”

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OHMYGOSSIP — Jayne Torvill thinks she’ll “cry” if the ‘Dancing on Ice’ contestants get upset by their comments.
The 60-year-old skater and her professional partner Christopher Dean are making the move from coaches to judges on the revamped version of the show and though they’ll leave the mean remarks to Jason Gardiner, they want their feedback to be constructive.
Chris said: “We’re fine with Jason’s acid tongue. We’re going t be giving honest critiques but in a positive way.
“Ashley will bring some nice balance – he has lots of enthusiasm”
Jayne added: “I don’t like upsetting people. If they cry, I’ll most probably be crying with them.”
But it’s not only after the judges’ comments the pair are expecting to see tears on the show.
Jayne explained: “There’s also a tunnel connecting the practice rink to the main rink and we might see some tears there. Chris is calling it ‘the tunnel of doom’.”
And the pair also teased a new twist to the format.
Discussing the changes to the show, Chris, 59, told OK! magazine: “The professionals doing the choreography will build the pressure with their celebrity partners.
“There are some little twists to the format too. Let’s just say viewers may have the chance to save their favourite person…
“It feels like the right time [to be back]. We felt like we’d done as much as we could and we were ready for a rest. It’ll have a fresh feel but it’s still all about jeopardy in lycra and sequins.”

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