Strictly’s inaugural icons week to honour Taylor Swift and Beyonce
During the results show, the professional dancers will perform a Beyonce medley.
Taylor Swift and Beyonce are among the music stars who will be honoured during Strictly Come Dancing’s inaugural icons week.
The remaining 10 celebrities and their professional dance partners will take to the ballroom floor on Saturday evening to perform a routine accompanied by a track from a well-known singer.
Continuing the celebration of music “icons”, the professional dancers will perform a Beyonce medley with Johannes Radebe channelling the singer’s alter-ego, Sasha Fierce, during Sunday’s results show.
In Saturday’s show, JLS star JB Gill and Lauren Oakley will perform their couple’s choice to a Bruno Mars medley.
Professional dancer Oakley, who does not have a partner for this year’s BBC One show, has stepped in to perform with Gill after a health scare forced his partner Amy Dowden to miss last Sunday’s results programme.
This year the dancer returned to competing on the show after undergoing treatment for breast cancer, including having a mastectomy and chemotherapy.
Speaking about icons week and the people who inspire her, she said: “My oncologists and doctors who helped me through my Crohn’s and cancer battles.
“My parents, who instilled a strong work ethic in me, and my twin sister, who’s my best friend. Also, my husband, who gave up his own competitive dancing career so I could shine.”
Also on the show, comedian Chris McCausland and Dianne Buswell will pay homage to rock band Kiss by dancing a tango to Rock And Rock All Nite.
Reality star Pete Wicks will turn into Freddie Mercury when he salsas to Queen song Another One Bites The Dust alongside Jowita Przystal, while Olympian Montell Douglas and Johannes Radebe perform a waltz to I Will Always Love You by Whitney Houston.
Honouring Anti-Hero singer Swift is former field hockey player Sam Quek and Nikita Kuzmin, who will dance an American smooth to Love Story.
Quek said: “Taylor Swift. She’s been through so much and been publicly humiliated.
“She started from the bottom, in terms of a little stage in a park with 20 people watching and she had setbacks but she kept going.
“We’re similar ages so I can relate to Taylor Swift, even though she’s in another stratosphere of fame and success.
“I’ve been through that in terms of setbacks and knockbacks and people saying you can’t do that, you’re not good enough, and then actually just being like, I can do it.”
Miranda actress Sarah Hadland will channel Madonna in a cha cha to Like A Prayer, alongside her dance partner Vito Coppola, while Love Island star Tasha Ghouri and Aljaz Skorjanec celebrate US singer Pink by dancing to their couple’s choice, What About Us.
Elsewhere, EastEnders star Jamie Borthwick and his partner Michelle Tsiakkas samba to George Michael song Faith, with singer Shayne Ward and Nancy Xu celebrating The Beatles with a quickstep to Help.
The result’s show will also include a performance from K-Pop boyband dearALICE.
The live show airs at 6.30pm on BBC One and BBC iPlayer on Saturday.
