Strictly Come Dancing pro thrills fans with surprise return after exit

After leaving the show amid a huge shake-up earlier this year, Nadiya Bychknova has returned to the world of Strictly Come Dancing with an appearance on spin-off It Takes Two. The star appeared on the newly revamped programme as a celebrity panelist alongside former contestants Jay McGuinness and Kimberley Walsh.

Fans took to social media to express delight at her comeback, with one saying on X: "So good to have Nadiya back."

"Nadiya Bychkova i’ve missed you diva," quipped someone else, while a third wrote: "Lovely to see the talented, dignified Nadiya on @bbcstrictly #ittakestwo Whoever decided to ‘refresh’ her out of the pro line-up wants kicking with very spangly pointed shoes."

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"Nadiya is such a classy lady," remarked someone else.

Speaking on the panel, Nadiya was ask to give some pearls of wisdom to this year's crop of contestants ahead of Movie Week tomorrow, and said: "I think on Friday, it's very important to get there and make sure they get comfortable - as comfortable as you can get on Friday in that ballroom.

"Make sure the steps are in, the understanding of the routine is there, and slowly getting into the spirit of movie week. So then tomorrow, once it is Movie Week, and when it's the main importance they'll be able to just enjoy and be in the moment."

On Dani Dyer in particular, she beamed: "The lines she's doing... it's week two, and to be able to do it so beautifully - controlled, with all the stretch, the position is there, the neck and the head is where it should be, all the lines are so beautiful and graceful. I can't wait to see it once everything is done."

Related: This Morning star recalls "gruelling" Strictly audition that saw her "burst out crying"

Movie Week will see the 15 contestants take to the floor one more time before the eliminations finally begin.

Deep breath: Bethany Antonia and Nancy Xu are doing Paso Doble to 'No Good Deed' from Wicked: For Good; Dani Dyer and Nikita Kuzmin will do a Foxtrot to the title song from Beauty and the Beast; Delta Goodrem and Kai Widdrington are performing an American Smooth to 'I’ll Never Love Again' from A Star Is Born; Jaime Winstone and Carlos Gu will Cha Cha to the title song from Pretty Woman; and Lacey Turner and Vito Coppola will Quickstep to 'I Knew It, I Knew You' from Toy Story 5.

Melanie Walters and Aljaž Škorjanec are set for a Waltz to 'Edelweiss' from The Sound Of Music; Dame Sarah Storey and Julian Caillon will Charleston to 'Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious' from Mary Poppins; Tabby Stoecker and Mark Karmalita are trying an American Smooth to 'Rewrite The Stars' from The Greatest Showman; Cach Mercer and Maddie Ingoldsby will Samba to 'We Go Together' from Grease; and Chris Appleton and Amy Dowden will Cha Cha to 'I’m Always Here' from Baywatch.

Finally, Graeme Hall and Lauren Oakley are set to Waltz to 'The Godfather Waltz' from The Godfather, John Nellis and Katya Jones have the series' first Couple’s Choice to 'An Irish Party in Third Class' from Titanic; Lawrence Robb and Jowita Przystał are doing a Viennese Waltz to 'Le Festin' from Ratatouille; Shaun Wright-Phillips and Alexis Warr will Salsa to 'You Should Be Dancing' from Saturday Night Fever; and Will Best and Dianne Buswell will dance a Foxtrot to 'Old Time Rock & Roll' from Risky Business.

Strictly Come Dancing airs on Saturday and Sunday nights on BBC One and iPlayer, while It Takes Two airs on BBC Two and iPlayer on weekday evenings.

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Shaun is an Evening News Editor at Digital Spy, with over a decade of experience reporting on all things pop culture. He has written for outlets including Metro, Attitude, Huffington Post, The Mirror, Yahoo!, Pink News and Express Online, specialising in TV, movies, soaps, music and LGBTQ+ issues. He is also a BAFTA Rocliffe-winning scriptwriter, having written episodes of the soap Hollyoaks, the official Steps musical Here & Now and multiple Offie Award-nominated plays. He studied English Literature and Drama at the University of East Anglia, and will happily talk at length about Desperate Housewives to anyone who'll listen.