Cheryl reveals how The Greatest Dancer has changed her own dancing

Cheryl has said that taking part in The Greatest Dancer has made her want to start ballet again, as she promised the new series of the show will have a “new lift” and “more energy”.

The Girls Aloud star will return as a dance captain for the new series alongside Glee actor Matthew Morrison and Strictly Come Dancing professional Oti Mabuse, while choreographer and RuPaul’s Drag Race star Todrick Hall also joins the panel.

The new series will also see a new receptionist greeting the auditioning dancers, in the form of Love Island star Curtis Pritchard.

Discussing how the addition of Hall has changed the dynamic, Cheryl told the PA news agency: “It gives it a new fresh take, a new lift, he’s actually hilarious.”

She added: “It’s the same show, the same format, it’s just more energy, there is more of us, there is more of them.

“Going through to the final there is going to be 12 acts so that is exciting so the lives get longer, we have got a full six lives.”

Morrrison continued: “And in the initial audition shows there is this new twist that they have that is very exciting, where one dance captain gets to pick their dancer of the day, and it adds a lot more stress as well.”

Mabuse, who is the reigning Strictly champion and who won the first series of The Greatest Dancer with teenage dancer Ellie Fergusson, denied she felt pressure to hold on to her crown, saying: “It’s a completely different year and I think it’s not like any other show, every single year you get to choose different acts and everybody has completely different acts.”

The series has given Cheryl, who first found fame as a singer, a chance to reconnect with her passion for classical dance.

She joined the Royal Ballet’s summer school at the age of nine but has since favoured more contemporary styles.

She said: “It makes me want to do ballet again, it really does.

“It’s hard, it’s a very hard dance but I’m more than happy to get into it.

“When I watch dancers that makes me feel the way they move and the nostalgia it causes for me, it inspires me to want to do different styles, I love it so much.

“I could watch them audition all day and the pressure is off us because the audience are deciding.”

The Greatest Dancer returns to BBC One on Saturday January 4 at 7pm.