Strictly Come Dancing's beloved spin-off show, It Takes Two, returned on Monday evening – hosted as always by Zoe Ball. Among the guests were some of the show's popular dance couples, as well as Strictly star Erin Boag in the 'Choreography Corner' segment - who appeared for 10 seasons on the dance show. But, many fans were quick to note that she had replaced the much-loved Karen Hardy, who usually joins Zoe for the segment. It's in fact thought that Erin is a temporary presenter, and Karen will return at some point later in the series.
Karen is usually a series regular
Karen is generally known to be the face of Choreography Corner - the weekly segment that looks in detail at all the dances from Saturday night's show, giving a professional perspective on the technique. She has presented it since it first began, though other dancers often fill in for her when she isn't available. Joanne Clifton is also a regular in the slot, as is Neil Jones.
It looks like Karen has been busy travelling, and teaching at her London dance school, which is most likely why she couldn't appear on the launch show – but she did return to Twitter earlier in September, suggesting she will part of this year's series. "Before I get active again for the awesome @bbcstrictly season. Wanted to mention my friends book club for kids @littlebobooks. Awesome idea good luck," she wrote.
Fans are excited at the return of It Takes Two
Many fans were quick to notice her absence on Monday's It Takes Two, with one asking on Twitter: "@Karen_Hardy are you doing it takes two choreography corner this year?" and another adding: "@the_karenhardy no mention of you in the trailer for #ittakestwo Please tell us you will be there for #choreographycorner."
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Another of the show's favourites is Ian Waite, Zoe's former partner and presenter of segment 'Waite's Warm-up', in which he analyses the couples' rehearsal footage. It's thought he'll definitely be returning, since he retweeted a fan message on Monday that read: "OMG it's #ItTakesTwo back on the telly. Fabulous @ZoeTheBall and @ianwaite keeping us entertained for a few months."
