It's set to be a royal affair this year for fans of Strictly Come Dancing, following the announcement that the show's Christmas special will be heading to Buckingham Palace, where it will be hosted by the Duchess of Cornwall. Festive features are promised, as is a performance from the Strictly dance professionals. The BBC said in a statement on Thursday: "As part of this year's Strictly Christmas Special, there will be a festive feature from inside Buckingham Palace. Hosted by HRH The Duchess of Cornwall, our Strictly family and members of the local community will attend a Tea Dance highlighting the benefits of dance and exercise in the process of active ageing. There will also be a beautiful performance from the Strictly professional dancers."
Strictly Come Dancing is set for an extra special Christmas
Stars set to take part in the Strictly Christmas special this year include Kimberly Walsh, who will be reunited with Pasha Kovalev – who she was paired with back in series 10. Andy Murray's mum Judy Murray is also in the line-up, who took part in the show back in series 12.
In other Strictly news, Brendan Cole set the record straight about his relationship with Shirley Ballas on Thursday's Lorraine. The professional dancer, who was teamed up with Charlotte Hawkins in this year's series, caused a stir when he argued against Shirley's comments about one of their dances during their time on the show, and reportedly shouted at her during Saturday's show.
The royal segment will be hosted by the Duchess of Cornwall at Buckingham Palace
Brendan said: "I wasn't [hurling abuse at Shirley]. If someone is under-marked, we all shout out 'under-marked' – apparently, that means I'm hurling abuse at Shirley." He continued: "They've also said that I've been ignoring Shirley backstage, but I haven't seen Shirley backstage! Shirley, if I do ever see you backstage, I am going to ignore you out of principle! Shirley and I actually go way back. I don't necessarily like what she did to us on our journey, but the BBC are loving her, some of the fans are loving her too, although some are hating her."