Strictly Come Dancing’s first pairing could have been revealed as Nick Knowles and professional Nadiya Bychkova (Image: PA)Get daily celeb exclusives and behind the scenes house tours direct to your inboxMore Newsletters SubscribePlease enter a valid emailSomething went wrong, please try again later.More NewslettersWe use your sign-up to provide content in ways you’ve consented to and improve our understanding of you. This may include adverts from us and third parties based on our knowledge of you. More infoThank you for subscribing!We have more newslettersShow me See OurPrivacy Notice See OurPrivacy Notice×Group 28 Get daily celeb exclusives and behind the scenes house tours direct to your inboxInvalid emailSomething went wrong, please try again later.Sign UpNo thanks, closeWe use your sign-up to provide content in ways you’ve consented to and improve our understanding of you. This may include adverts from us and third parties based on our knowledge of you. More info×Group 28Thank you for subscribing!We have more newslettersShow MeNo thanks, closeSee our
Privacy NoticeAs Strictly Come Dancing is gearing up for a return to the BBC in the coming weeks, fans are eagerly waiting to see who the host of celebrity contestants will be partnered up with. And some are speculating that one coupling has already been revealed, after DIY SOS star Nick Knowles, 61, was spotted filming alongside professional dancer Nadiya Bychkova, 35. The duo were seen at a London shopping centre this week, in pictures obtained by The Sun, and were joined by a film crew. In the snaps, Nick donned a navy suit while his potential counterpart looked stunning in a white shirt and jeans.
Nick was seen with Nadiya filming this week
(Image: PA)
When OK! contacted the BBC for comment, they shared: “The Strictly Come Dancing celebrity contestant and Professional Dancer pairings will be announced, as usual, in the launch show airing in the Autumn and on the official Strictly channels.” Nick joins TOWIE star Pete Wicks, Love Island’s Tasha Ghouri, JLS singer JB Gill, actress Sarah Hadland, EastEnders’ Jamie Borthwick, singer and actress Toyah Willcox, comedian Chris McCausland, presenter Wynne Evans, former footballer Paul Merson, actor and singer Shayne Ward, Olympic swimmer Tom Dean MBE, Gladiators’ Montell Douglas, Dr Punam Krishan and Olympian Sam Quek in the line up. This sighting comes hot on the heels of the news that professional Kai Widdrington, who reportedly split from girlfriend Nadiya earlier this year, allegedly won’t have a celebrity partner for this series of the show. According to reports from The Sun, the dancer will be left solo and only appear in group dances due to the lack of female participants this year – following a slew of misconduct reports from the last series. The star last year danced with Angela Rippon, who was the oldest ever contestant to take part in the show at 78-years-old. A source told the publication: “Kai has become the first casualty of this year’s male-heavy line-up. With so few female celebrities it was inevitable that some of the professionals would miss out on a pairing, but it’s a real blow that Kai is one of them.”
The show returns this month after a drama-filled year
(Image: PA)
The source continued: “Bosses have to look at a number of factors when choosing which dancer to pair with which celebrity. They look at everything from height through to chemistry tests to see who will work best together and it means Kai has missed out.” Kai, 29, who is also preparing for his solo tour in May, is said to be gutted he is not taking part, while his fellow pros are baffled that he has been overlooked. A rep for Strictly Come Dancing declined to comment. Following a tumultuous year for the BBC show, Strictly is reportedly also slashing budgets as sources have claimed that executives have put money to new welfare measures – including the celebs having chaperones by their side during rehearsals. Story SavedYou can find this story in My Bookmarks.Or by navigating to the user icon in the top right.Follow OK! MagazineFacebookTwitterCommentMore OnNick KnowlesStrictly Come Dancing
