Strictly Come Dancing fans were very excited to see one beloved professional return to the franchise on Tuesday evening – Karen Hardy! The veteran dancer appeared on Zoe Ball's sister show, It Takes Two, for the 'choreography corner' segment – the part of the show which originally featured Karen permanently. The choreographer was flooded with excited comments following her appearance, and took to Twitter to share her gratitude. "Can’t say thank you enough for all the wonderful messages. Team @bbcstrictly #ItTakesTwo quite simply ...YOU ROCK. I will miss you all like mad again. Team ‘All You Strictly Fans’, you just continue to make it all worth while. Was like being back at home. Here’s to that final."
Image: Twitter @the_karenhardy
She earlier posted: "Wow I’m feeling lots of Twitter love out there for @bbcstrictly #ItTakesTwo and #choreographycorner. See you all soon." The show's fans were quick to send their adoring comments to Karen, with one writing: "I almost exploded glitter and sequins in my excitement reading this! It has made my December! The wonder that is Karen Hardy is back!"
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Strictly confirmed Karen would not return as the regular presenter of 'choreography corner' again in September, and throughout the series there has been a range of pros taking part in the segment – from Katya Jones to Darren Bennet and Lillia Kopylova. Zoe was clearly very excited to see Karen back on the show, as was the live audience, who gave the star a huge cheer as she returned to the sofa.
The professional dancer has not appeared in her regular slot since 2016, and previously spoke to HELLO! about her reasons for slowing her Strictly schedule. "First off, I have not left the show – I like to say that I will not be a stranger to the show. It is just that with everything that I have on in my life I just needed to take some time out," she said. "I have been involved with Strictly for 12 years; I travel internationally; I am a doting mum of two and, of course, I am incredibly busy running my private member's dance club in Chelsea. To be honest, my absolute love of dance is shared – everyone knows how much I love it. But at this time of my life, whilst my youngest son is only two years old, sadly I just needed some breathing space. I definitely am not a stranger, I love the show so much."
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