Strictly star Anneka Rice impressed the judges and celebrity partner Kevin Clifton on Saturday night with her much-improved dance. The Challenge Anneka star took to the ballroom to dance the Waltz, and received a respectable 19 points out of 40, which she was more than happy with. The night was particularly special for Anneka – whose three sons were in the audience – as she wore a dress for the first time on the show, and was even convinced to style her hair up in a pretty updo. Praising the real 'miracle worker' behind-the-scenes, Anneka shared a photo on Instagram of herself with Strictly hairdresser Lisa Davey to thank her for convincing her to change her look.
Strictly star Anneka Rice praised her hairdresser who she branded a miracle worker on Saturday night
She wrote: "This miracle worker has got me to wear my hair up tonight. A lot of protesting but she won. My sons love it... I’m getting used to it. My brain has never seen a feminine face look back at it from the mirror. 6.40 tonight! Please watch and vote (obvs only if you don’t think I’m complete shit) @lisadaveyhair #strictly #abouttokickoff."
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Anneka lookd beautiful as she danced the Waltz with Kevin Clifton
Anneka was overwhelmed after her performance on Saturday and was visibly emotional as she waited to hear her scores from the judges, admitting that she had danced from her heart. The star had previously expressed her reluctance to wear a dress on Strictly, and was more than happy to wear trousers during her first dance in week one of the competition. The star had told Zoe Ball during an appearance on It Takes Two ahead of her Waltz: "Even my wedding dress, I am not joking, I didn't see it the day before," she explained. "I am just not interested Poor Vicky [Gill, Strictly's costume designer], the chats I've had with Vicky."
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Vicky appeared on It Takes Two a few days later and gave fans a sneak preview of Anneka's dress. Opening up about their first meeting, Vicky said: "When I first met Anneka, obviously she's used to trousers, so she was a little bit scared about the frocks. But I said to her, 'unfortunately I can't promise you that you won't ever have to wear one'." Describing the frock, Vicky explained: "Bless Anneka, she's requested a blush pink so she's really going for it, she's getting into the vibe. It's very simple on the bodice because I think we can't overdo it, we're going into a dress, we're going into pink so don't want to throw too much at her. We've got a cream lining and then we've got a circle of georgette over the top and a nice cheeky little split because Anneka has got fantastic legs."
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