Strictly Come Dancing has seen a number of This Morning stars waltz their way to the ballroom of late, most recently resident health expert Dr Ranj. And if it's up to the doctor - who was recently partnered with pro dancer Janette Manrara - his co-stars Holly Willoughby and Phillip Schofield will come and watch the show. "I hope so," he said, while talking to HELLO! and other reporters at the TV Choice Awards on Monday night - which saw both Strictly Come Dancing and This Morning win big. The 39-year-old also revealed that he had heard from Ruth Langsford earlier in the day, which had been the first day of training.
Dr Ranj hopes Holly Willoughby and Phillip Schofield will pay him a visit at Strictly
Dr Ranj said: "Ruth has texted me today as I said that ahead of rehearsals I had been really nervous, and she was super lovely. She keeps giving me really good advice, like 'just calm down' and 'don't expect to do everything technically, take your time.'"
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The first day of Strictly
It isn’t just the team at This Morning who have been supportive of Dr Ranj's Strictly journey. The NHS hospital he works at have also been "super accommodating," he said. "They have managed to change my shifts around for me. My NHS job is really important, it's not something I want to give up. For me to be able to make it work around everything else is really important, it's my passion and it drives me, so I am glad I can keep it going."
MORE: Brendan Cole has his say on the new Strictly pairings
Dr Ranj says his dance partner Janette Manrara is fun but fair
The first day of training with Janette went well too. "She is super fun, she does know how to whip me into shape, she has to! She's very fair. Fun but fair," Dr Ranj said laughing. Earlier in the week, Brendan Cole revealed his high hopes for Dr Ranj and Janette in the competition while writing in his exclusive HELLO! Strictly column. He said: "What about Dr Ranj? Doesn't he seem so sweet? He's been placed with Strictly's very own Disney princess Janette Manrara and they're great together. I think they will be really popular with the younger audience and I predict great things for them."
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