Strictly Come Dancing professionals share BTS pics as rehearsals begin

Nikita Kuzmin shared some shots from rehearsals, which included wholesome pictures with Vito Coppola, Nadiya Bychkova, Carlos Gu, Aljaž Škorjanec and more.

Dianne Buswell also posted some hilarious BTS pictures with fellow dancers Nancy Xu, Michelle Tsiakkas, Amy Dowden, Katya Jones, Lauren Oakley, Vito Coppola, Nikita Kuzmin and others.

From crisp boxes to funny faces, there is a lot going on, and Dianne captioned it: "It's been a fun first week of year 8 at Strictly school."

Strictly will be celebrating its 20th year this year and fans can expect some extra special performances along the way.

During this year's BAFTA Television Awards with P&O Cruises, in which Strictly picked up the award for Best Entertainment Programme, host Tess Daly told RadioTimes.com and other press in the winners' room: "It's a big year for us."

For one thing, Škorjanec has rejoined the Strictly professionals, which was a delight to fans and former pros alike!

The dancer confessed he was "ecstatic" to be back on the Strictly dance floor.

"I had an absolute ball during my nine-year stint on Strictly," he said. "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.

"It feels so right to be coming back. I missed the fun, glitter and the judges of course, and I hope to make my daughter Lyra proud!"

In an exclusive chat with RadioTimes.com, former pro Joanne Clifton said the news was "brilliant" and she was "unbelievably happy" for Škorjanec.

"Aljaž was always a big, big favourite," she said. "He's very popular and he's one of the nicest guys as well, so I think it's absolutely brilliant that he's going back."

Strictly Come Dancing will return later this year.

Check out more of our Entertainment coverage or visit our TV Guide and Streaming Guide to find out what else is on. For more from the biggest stars in TV, listen to The Radio Times Podcast.