strictly come dancing welcomes back stars

Strictly Come Dancing welcomes back these former stars

The 2017 Strictly family have remained close!

US Managing Editor
November 4, 2018

Strictly Come Dancing fans were delighted on Saturday as they recognised more than one familiar face in the audience. Past contestants including Loose Women panellist Ruth Langsford – who was partnered with Anton Du Beke last year, and The Saturdays' Mollie King, who danced with AJ Pritchard. Ruth went along with her friend and fellow TV presenter, Homes Under the Hammer's Lucy Alexander, and the pair couldn’t contain their excitement on their way to the show. Lucy posted a video on Instagram of them both singing along to the Strictly theme tune in the back of a taxi, and another one of them showcasing their dance moves on the famous ballroom floor.

Ruth Langsford went back to the Strictly studios on Saturday night

The video went down a treat with their famous friends, and Lucy was encouraged to take part in the show next year by a number of people, including TV presenter Kate Thornton. "You should do it next year!" she said, to which Lucy responded: "Kate I'd love to!" Mollie, meanwhile, posted some behind-the-scenes videos on her own Instagram account, including one of her in the makeup room with AJ. "Of course, I am in the makeup room," she joked, promoting AJ to reply: "Back with your filters on!"

MORE: These nine Strictly Come Dancing stars reunited for a very special reason

Brendan Cole joins HELLO! as a Strictly columnist

Like Ruth, Mollie also couldn’t resist going back down to the ballroom floor for a photo opportunity. She captioned the picture: "SO good being back at @bbcstrictly last night... and even better stepping on the dance floor without all the nerves. What a magical show it is! Felt like I’d never left!"

Mollie King also posed in the famous Strictly ballroom

READ: The start date for I'm A Celebrity has been confirmed

Both Ruth and Mollie have remained great friends with their dance partners following the show. Ruth admitted that she found it difficult to watch Anton with a new partner this series, when he competed in the competition with Susannah Constantine until they were voted off in the first week. Mollie, meanwhile, was reunited with AJ at the Pride of Britain Awards on Monday night. Fans were delighted to see the reunion, with one writing next to a photo of the pair shared on social media: "My fave strictly couple!! I’m so happy you two had a nice catch up," while another said: "You make a gorgeous couple and we were all hoping you'd get together last year." Also in attendance was Debbie McGee, who showcased her dance moves with Giovanni Pernice in 2017. Debbie posed for a photo backstage with her former dance partner and Faye Tozer.

Like this story?Sign up to our newsletter to get other stories like this delivered straight to your inbox.

Sign up to Off Camera for all the gossip and goings-on from the wonderful world of TV and film

Email Address

By entering your details, you are agreeing to HELLO! Magazine User Data Protection Policy. You can unsubscribe at any time. For more information, please click here.

More TV and Film

See more