STRICTLY IN BLACKPOOL: Countdown on for Blackpool's ballroom blitz!

The stars of Strictly Come Dancing are packing their bags and heading for the hallowed dance floor of Blackpool Tower Ballroom.
The cast of Strictly Come Dancing 2018 ahead of last Saturdays showThe cast of Strictly Come Dancing 2018 ahead of last Saturdays show
The cast of Strictly Come Dancing 2018 ahead of last Saturdays show

The prime-time TV favourite will broadcast live from the resort on Saturday night, with eight celebrities and their partners set to perform.

Missing out on the ballroom blitz is actor Danny John-Jules and partner Amy Dowden, who left the show on Sunday night after losing the dance-off to cricketer Graeme Swann and partner Oti Mabuse with a neon-bright fitness class-inspired salsa.

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Now the big countdown to the series’s glitziest night is on. Celebrating their place on the Blackpool-bound Strictly bus, the dancing stars posted on social media after Sunday’s results show.

Broadcaster Stacey Dooley wrote on Twitter: “WE DID IT KING KEV! B L A A A A C K P O O L!

“Thank you, thank you, thank you gang.”

And YouTube vlogger Joe Sugg – who has spoken of his desire to dance at the Tower to follow in his nana’s footsteps since being announced for the show – wrote: “Thank you all so much. WE’RE OFF TO BLACKPOOL! @dbuzz6589 thanks so much for being the best teacher a boy could hope for.”

The resort was mentioned throughout the shows on Saturday and Sunday nights, with a special montage showing the Tower in all its glory watching over the Prom.

Cricketer Graeme Swann and dancer Oti Mabuse won the dance off to secure a place at the Tower BallroomCricketer Graeme Swann and dancer Oti Mabuse won the dance off to secure a place at the Tower Ballroom
Cricketer Graeme Swann and dancer Oti Mabuse won the dance off to secure a place at the Tower Ballroom
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Professional dancer Kevin Clifton, paired with Stacey, has spoken of the pressures of the couple being named favourites for the glitterball trophy, and the pressure to produce ‘something special’ on the Blackpool stage.

“You feel you want to do something special,” he told ITV show This Morning.

“Out of all your dances you do in the series, you don’t want Blackpool to be a bit of an average one, you want to go out and do something special, because everyone gears up for Blackpool week.”

Dancing at the Tower Ballroom on Saturday will be: Ashley Roberts and Pasha Kovalev, Charles Venn and Karen Clifton, Faye Tozer and Giovanni Pernice, Graeme Swann and Oti Mabuse, Joe Sugg and Dianne Buswell, Kate Silverton and Aljaž Skorjanec, Lauren Steadman and AJ Pritchard and Stacey Dooley and Kevin Clifton.

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This year is the 12th time Strictly has broadcast from the resort, from it’s first two series in 2004, through 2009 to 11, and returning every year since 2013.

It’s said to be a ‘money can’t buy’ advert for the town with around 12million people tuning in across the weekend.

* See Strictly Come Dancing live from Blackpool Tower on Saturday from 6.45pm.