Strictly star pulls out of studio appearance as Janette Manrara explains absence
Strictly Come Dancing professional Karen Hauer was forced to appear on It Takes Two on her own as her celebrity dance partner Paul Merson couldn't be in the studio.
Strictly: Paul Merson on dad duties during It Takes Two
Strictly Come Dancing's Karen Hauer was left to fly solo on Strictly's It Takes Two while her celebrity partner Paul Merson, had to attend to "dad duties".
The sports star was expected to join dance pro Karen on Wednesday evening for an interview on the popular spin-off. However, he ended up contributing via a video call to share details about their upcoming performance and reflect on last week's success.
Janette Manrara, the show's host, explained his absence, noting: "Paul, you're on dad duties this evening. So you can't be in the studio this evening. That comes first."
Soon after, she delved into a conversation regarding Paul's last dance efforts. In them, he charmed with a Quickstep to "I Won't Dance," dodging the dance-off in the competition.
Despite receiving glowing comments from judges and the public alike, Paul is now bracing himself for the next challenge. He aims to impress with a Samba routine set to the classic tune Car Wash, remarking that it feels like a return to "back to reality," reports the Mirror.
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On describing what the previous weeks dance meant to him, Paul remarked: "Amazing. Just to get a nice dance."
He also reminisced about his past performances, commenting: "Obviously, a BBQ, a vindaloo, and footballs are coming in, and he looks like someone who works on a ship. Yeah, it was nice to dance. I thought Karen deserved that as well, to be fair."
Discussing his elegant quickstep, he also mentioned: "It felt nice when I first took up the chance to come on to the show. This is what I thought it would be roughly, you know what I mean? So it was nice to get one of those dances in."
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Strictly fans have voiced their frustration about Paul's comedic routines, arguing they want him to try more serious dances. These sentiments were echoed on It Takes Two as viewers lamented once again.
One frustrated fan commented: "It makes me annoyed to see Paul and Karen talking about how much he loved being Fred Astaire during the quickstep, and that's what he always expected #Strictly to be, not the silly stuff. And then this week they have a samba to Car Wash, back to being the joke again."
Similarly, another chimed in: "#Strictly Please listen to Paul and Karen! The expectation when signing up was to learn to dance, with all the associated elegance, not silly songs and silly themes."
Strictly's It Takes Two airs weekdays at 6:30pm on BBC Two.
