Strictly star Janette Manrara has been announced as the host of the 2022 Strictly Come Dancing live arena tour.
The professional dancer, 38, will preside over 33 shows across the country in January and February next year and the tour will also see her reunited with tour judges Shirley Ballas, Craig Revel Horwood and Bruno Tonioli.
She and husband Aljaz Skorjanec have both competed as professional dancers on the BBC One series with celebrities since 2013, but this year she hung up her dancing shoes to replace Zoe Ball as the host of It Takes Two.
She said: “I’m absolutely thrilled to be hosting the 2022 Strictly arena tour. It’s a dream come true.
“It’s been two years since the last tour so the expectation and build-up has been huge. We’ve been desperate to return to venues around the UK and now we’re finally back.
“The show is going to be bigger than ever – with lots of glitter, lots of sparkles, lots of excitement and lots of incredible dance routines.
“And you never know… you might just see me taking to the dance floor myself – I can’t wait, I’ve really missed it.”
FAB-U-LOUS BREAKING NEWS
Strictly legend @BrunoTonioli will return to the judges desk with @ShirleyBallas and @CraigRevHorwood for 33 supersized sparkle-filled @SCD_Live_Tour shows!
Tickets are on sale now! #Strictly #SCDLivehttps://t.co/p7XtQQ3NCz pic.twitter.com/uTcDcXUtDR
— SCD_Live_Tour (@SCD_Live_Tour) October 21, 2021
The arena tour, which will be directed by Revel Horwood, will feature performances from some celebrities and professional dancers from the current series of the programme.
The audience will then be able to vote for their favourite dance each night to decide who takes home the Live Tour Glitterball Trophy after each show.
Revel Horwood is due to miss this weekend’s Strictly Come Dancing after testing positive for Covid-19 but will return to the programme the following week after his period of self-isolation ends.
What an incredible night hosting my first ever @bbcstrictly #ItTakesTwo w/ the gorgeous @Rylan! I’ll miss him on Wednesdays & Thursdays, but cannot wait to be back tomorrow! Such a special night! THANK YOU for all of the lovely messages of love & support. They mean the world! ✨ pic.twitter.com/lCQoQ7CgSm
— Janette Manrara (@JManrara) September 28, 2021
The tour will also see Tonioli resume judging duties after he had to pull out of the current series of the programme due to uncertainty around travel restrictions between the UK and the US, where he is based and is also a judge on American series Dancing With The Stars.
He has been replaced on the judging panel in the current series by Strictly professional Anton Du Beke.
The Strictly Come Dancing tour features dates in Birmingham, Leeds, Newcastle, Manchester, Sheffield, Liverpool, Glasgow, Nottingham and London.
It will take place in January and February next year, with the first dates kicking off at the Utilita Arena Birmingham on January 20.