More than a decade ago, new Strictly Come Dancing pro Aljaž Škorjanec won the BBC series in his debut year, the final season that was co-presented by Sir Bruce Forsyth.
Now, 12 years later, the fan-favourite wants a repeat of his victory to mark Tess Daly and Claudia Winkleman’s farewell, he told Metro.
This weekend, the celebrities are taking part in Icons Week, which saw Aljaž and his celebrity partner, RuPaul’s Drag Race UK star La Voix, perform a salsa to Cher’s Strong Enough.
We spoke to the radiant couple about their journey on the series so far, as well as how they’re feeling following the news that Tess and Claudia are stepping down as hosts of the show after more than 20 years.
Aljaž, 35, first joined Strictly in 2013, during which he was partnered with model Abbey Clancy. At the end of the competition, and after a perfect score for their waltz in the final, they lifted the Glitterball Trophy.
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In 2021, he announced that he had ‘made the tough decision’ to leave the programme, saying in a statement: ‘The show has given me an opportunity and freedom to create and express myself in front of millions of people every weekend for the last nine years.’
But three years later, he threw a curveball by revealing that he was coming back once again, stating: ‘During my time away, I became a parent, which has been an exciting challenge in itself, and now I’m ready to experience the Strictly magic again.’
Speaking to Metro alongside La Voix while in the midst of rehearsals for Icons Week, Aljaž said that his aim during the show is to ‘get as far into the competition as possible to create more moments for our celebrities’.
‘You want to have Strictly as many weeks as possible, because it’s a beautiful show to do. One of the hardest things you’re ever going to do in life, because it’s so alien to so many people. I feel like the more weeks you stay in, the more contagious it gets and the more you want to stay in the competition,’ he shared.
AIjaz then added: ‘I was the last one that Bruce gave the trophy to, so I would love to be the last one that Tess and Claudia give the trophy to. Because then I have bragging rights for the rest of my life.’
‘Let’s manifest that!’ La Voix declared.
What did Tess and Claudia say about leaving Strictly?
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In the caption alongside the video that they posted on Instagram, Tess and Claudia wrote: ‘We have loved working as a duo and hosting Strictly has been an absolute dream.
‘We were always going to leave together and now feels like the right time. We will have the greatest rest of this amazing series and we just want to say an enormous thank you to the BBC and to every single person who works on the show.
‘They’re the most brilliant team and we’ll miss them every day. We will cry when we say the last “keep dancing” but we will continue to say it to each other. Just possibly in tracksuit bottoms at home while holding some pizza. Tess & Claud ❤️.’
La Voix, 45, is no stranger to TV competitions, having previously competed on Britain’s Got Talent and RuPaul’s Drag Race UK, on which she was a runner-up last year.
So, the idea of winning Strictly would ‘be the dream’, she told us.
‘It’s obviously my goal. You shouldn’t go into any of these shows thinking, “Oh, I’ll just do a few weeks and I’ll go home.” I want to go right to the end. It would be amazing.
‘I’ve been in so many of these competitions, and I’ve never had that moment of actually winning them. So it would be a lovely milestone in my career [to say] I won one, but I didn’t just win one – I won Strictly. And most importantly, I won Strictly with Aljaž. That would be the dream.’
The drag star acknowledged how ‘honoured’ they feel to be a part of the final series with Tess and Claudia at the helm, describing the dynamic duo as ‘wonderful’.
‘If you think about it, we’ve lost The Game of Thrones actor, Dani Dyer, we’ve lost Stefan to injury, Tess and Claud,’ La Voix said, before quipping: ‘I’ve already started growing a fringe in case there’s an emergency.’
Aljaž emphasised how hard a job it is to present Strictly, calling it ‘probably the toughest job in the whole of television’ given there aren’t any breaks for adverts.
‘I was very lucky that I got to do a season with Sir Bruce, and when he didn’t do the show anymore, it was incredible to watch how those two talented ladies took those roles. I feel like they really made the show their own,’ he said.
‘Strictly is such a staple in British television, and I feel like Tess and Claude carried it to new heights. They complemented each other beautifully all these years and made all of us a part of the show feel really, really special. We have all enjoyed working with them, and it’s going to be a huge void that is going to be left there.’
He continued: ‘It’s gonna be so weird not having them here next season. But I feel like we have to focus now on the season that we have with them, and just wrap up this beautiful journey that they had on Strictly for over 20 years.’
The Strictly Come Dancing results show airs tonight at 7.15pm on BBC One and BBC iPlayer.
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