Did you know Lesley Joseph and Strictly's Craig Revel Horwood once shared a stage role?
The ballroom isn't the first place the Birds of a Feather star and judge have crossed paths
Lesley Joseph is about to start her Strictly Come Dancing journey (yes, it's always a journey) but the ballroom won't actually be the first place she's come face to face with a certain member of the judging panel: one Craig Revel Horwood.
They might be judge and contestant now, but the pair have actually job-shared in theatre land, alternating the role of Miss Hannigan in a stage production of Annie.
The show, which toured the UK from July 2015 to June 2016, saw Horwood play the orphanage's cruel supervisor in the majority of the original performances. Then, when unavailable due to his commitments to Strictly, Joseph took over. The Birds of a Feather star then saw out the remainder of the run from January of this year.
Madeleine Haynes, Isabella Pappas and Sophia Pettit shared the title role, with Nikolai Foster directing.
It won't affect her scores of course (those high numbered paddles go up for skill and skill alone) but hey, a familiar face on the first day of 'school' is always nice, right?
Strictly Come Dancing launches 3rd of September at 6:50pm on BBC1
