Nicholas Bailey to star on Strictly Come Dancing Christmas Special
Nicholas Bailey has been added to the line-up of the Strictly Come Dancing Christmas Special.
Nicholas Bailey is set to compete on the Strictly Come Dancing Christmas Special.
The 54-year-old actor - who is best known for playing Anthony Trueman in EastEnders - and comedian Babtunde Aleshe have both been added to the Christmas Special line-up.
Nicholas said: "I’m really excited to be doing this, almost as excited as my wife and daughters are! Hopefully I’ll do them, Albert Square and Luba proud. Bring on the dancefloor."
Babatunde is also thrilled to be appearing on the Christmas special.
He said: "I used to do a little dancing when I was in college. I used to do Street Locking and Break Dancing, but then I found comedy and pursued that instead.
"At 39 I’ve accepted that a good two-step is all I need to get by at any function, but I know that won't be enough for Strictly! Let's hope the old moves come back to me in time for Christmas."
Meanwhile, Tess Daly and Claudia Winkleman recently announced plans to leave Strictly Come Dancing at the end of the current series.
The co-hosts said: "We have loved working as a duo and hosting Strictly has been an absolute dream.
"We were always going to leave together and now feels like the right time. We will have the greatest rest of this amazing series and we just want to say an enormous thank you to the BBC and to every single person who works on the show. They’re the most brilliant team and we’ll miss them every day.
"We will cry when we say the last “keep dancing” but we will continue to say it to each other. Just possibly in tracksuit bottoms at home while holding some pizza."
Sarah James, the executive producer of Strictly Come Dancing, also paid a glowing tribute to the co-hosts.
She said: "Tess and Claudia are quite simply the best duo of presenters in the business and we are so lucky to have had them as our Strictly anchors for so many years.
"They have championed countless celebrities on the dancefloor, led us all through two series during the pandemic but more importantly they have a deep and genuine bond with the show and every single member of the team. The Strictly Family is often referred to and these women are the matriarchs of that family."
