First Strictly Come Dancing Christmas contestant announced days before Blackpool show
As stars prepare to dance their hearts out at the Tower Ballroom in Blackpool, the first Christmas contestant has been announced.
The first Christmas Strictly Come Dancing 2025 contestant has been announced - and they've already started training with their professional dance partner. On Friday night (November 21), Janette Manrara returned to the helm of the BBC spin-off show It Takes Two, where she welcomed Scarlette Moffatt, Rav Wilding, and Ashley Banjo onto the show.
But minutes into the show, the ballroom expert halted the scheduled format to introduce the first dancer to join the star-studded festive line-up. It was none other than former Gogglebox star, Scarlette, who shared her excitement on the panel show. She began: "I'm here to tell you, your big Strictly exclusive is that I am officially this year's first Strictly Christmas Special contestant."
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She admitted: "I'm so excited, I just keep crying all the time, I can say it out loud. It's just a dream, it's at the top of my bucket list, which I never thought I'd be able to do, and now I get to do it.
"This has been a tradition in my family that we sit down and we watch Strictly on Christmas Day, and the fact that my little boy, Jude, gets to then watch his mum [perform]. I'm just so excited."
The TV presenter then went on to reveal that she has been partnered up with Vito Coppola for the festive special, as she gave viewers an insight into what the training has been like so far.
She confessed: "It's even better than I could have imagined, we've just laughed from start to finish. But I've also discovered muscles that I didn't think I had, and things wobble that I didn't think would wobble. Every day is a school day, isn't it?"
When she was asked how confident she feels going into the show, she admitted: "I genuinely feel like I've already won, the fact that I get to be a part of it, and I'm dancing with Vito [is the cherry on top]. However, I am leaving a little space on my mantle piece, just in case."
It didn't take long before viewers flocked to X - formerly known as Twitter - to share their surprise online, as one user penned: "Vito is on the Xmas special with a partner at last [three applause emojis]".
Meanwhile, others pointed out the former I'm a Celeb winner's past ballroom experience, with one user writing: "Strange that #ItTakesTwo doesn't even mention Scarlett Moffatt's past as a competitive ballroom dancer. I guess it doesn't really matter because it's Christmas, but maybe mention it."
Another agreed: "You mean the same Scarlett who has taken part in, and won, ballroom and Latin dance championships? That's fair to anyone else taking part!" A third echoed: "Scarlett Moffat was a competitive ballroom dancer, winning the British Ballroom Championship at age 16. She has recently returned to ballroom dancing, competing again in 2024, but she has been confirmed as a contestant for the Strictly Christmas Special 2025."
