Strictly Come Dancing will reportedly welcome stage and screen icon Cynthia Erivo back to the ballroom in an exciting show first.
The Wicked star has appeared on the BBC reality competition before. In 2021, she was a stand-in guest judge, covering for Craig Revel Horwood and Motsi Mabuse.
Now, the booked and busy performer is making her way back for a special new role as guest mentor for one week only during Movie Week – perfect timing to coincide with the imminent release of Wicked: For Good.
In the newly-created role, she’ll be helping the 14 Strictly celebs tap into their inner movie star before joining the judges on the night to watch them all wow on the dance floor.
The cherry on top? The Strictly professionals will perform a Wicked-themed dance number to As Long As You’re Mine which is a beloved duet between Elphaba and Fiyero in the production.
Get personalised updates on Strictly
Wake up to find news on your TV shows in your inbox every morning with Metro’s TV Newsletter.
Sign up to our newsletter and then select your show in the link we’ll send you so we can get TV news tailored to you.
In short, Movie Week – taking place on October 11 – is truly set to defy gravity (and expectations).
‘Strictly wanted to sprinkle some real Hollywood magic onto Movie Week and have Cynthia coming on board to help train the stars.
‘She’ll be working with all the celebrities in the rehearsal rooms in the lead-up, then will be live in the Strictly studio to give her feedback on their routines.’
The insider added to The Sun: ‘If it’s a success, they hope that this will pave the way for more big-name stars to have guest mentor roles on the show.’
The new season is well underway with plenty of chatter from Thomas Skinner’s various controversies to Dianne Buswell’s history-making stint as a pregnant pro.
That’s not to mention Dani Dyer dropping out after a devastating injury, with Love Island star Amber Davies taking over last minute.
Dani has been vocal about how heartbreaking her shock withdrawal over her fractured ankle has been.
Discussing it on her podcast, Live and Let Dyers, with her famous dad Danny, she said she had ‘not wanted to get out of bed. I’ve been laying and crying a lot.’
Danny shared: ‘‘I know that this is a very tricky thing for you and you’ve only just been able to talk about it now.
‘Your whole winter has completely changed in an instant; the rug was pulled from under you. I don’t think you can compute it, none of us can.
‘What you’ve got to do is, which you have, is pull up them big girl knickers, and we get on with it, because up to this point it’s been an incredible year. You’ve done some amazing stuff.’
Metro has reached to the BBC for comment.
Strictly Come Dancing returns to BBC One on Saturday at 6:20pm.