Strictly’s Faye Tozer: I feel like I’ve been beaten up in training

Strictly Come Dancing star Faye Tozer says training for her performance on this weekend’s episode has left her “bruised and battered”.

The Steps star will dance a contemporary couple’s choice routine to Fever by Peggy Lee during the programme’s Halloween special on Saturday night.

Speaking to the Press Association, Tozer, 42, said this week’s training sessions with her professional partner Giovanni Pernice, 28, had been some of the toughest so far.

She said: “Every week on Strictly is completely different and I find that your body is being attacked from a totally different angle depending on what style you are doing.

“This week it’s definitely not easier. We’ve got quite a lot of floor work so I’m bruised and battered. I feel like I’ve been beaten up.

“And actually we’ve been challenging ourselves even more than we have to, flexibility wise, as well. We want to try to get something else out of the bag.”

Tozer’s foxtrot to Just The Way You Are by Bruno Mars earned her a cumulative total of 33 points out of a possible 40 on last week’s show, ranking her joint third alongside Stacey Dooley.

Pernice added Tozer has been the ideal partner.

He said: “With Faye, it’s good because she is a really good student. She really focuses on every single day.

“I shouldn’t say this in front of her but, yeah, she is a really good student.

“As a professional, as a teacher, that’s what I really want from my student. She arrives every Saturday and delivers the best performance you could ask for.”

Strictly Come Dancing continues on BBC One on Saturday night.