Strictly Come Dancing fans were left in tears as one of the show's beloved former dancers made a TV comeback. The BBC One dance contest's spin-off show was back on Tuesday night (November 8) with Rylan Clark at the helm.
Amid chatting to Molly Rainford and Carlos Gu about their second stint in the dance-off and talking to Hamza Yassin and Jowita Przystał about his continuing string of 10s in the ballroom, It Takes Two host Rylan revealed they'd had a request from a 'viewer'.
The message read: "Dear Rylan, I'd love to see the handsome and talented Aljaž on It Takes Two. Maybe you could have him explore some of the themed weeks from Strictly shows across the globe. It would really make my year as I love Aljaž so much." Rylan then remarked: "How lovely is that letter?" before revealing its sign-off which said: "Lots of love Janet Nanrara."
So it came as no surprise to fans to see Aljaž Škorjanec on-screen. The show's former professional dancer caused devastation among fans of the BBC One dance competition in March when he became the second professional dancer to announce he was leaving before the 2022 series.
The 32-year-old, who is married to former Strictly pro and Rylan's It Takes Two co-host Jannette Marara, shared the news via a statement on Instagram alongside a collage of pictures from his time on the show, including lifting the Glitterball Trophy with model Abbey Clancy during his first series.
Aljaž said at the time that he made the "tough" decision that Strictly 2021 would be his last "a little while ago" after nine years of competing with celebrities on the hit programme. The Slovenian dancer and choreographer later revealed that he had been having acting lessons and auditioning for roles "trying to get his foot in the door" of Hollywood.
But during Tuesday's edition of It Takes Two, Alijaz was doing a bit of presenting work as he hosted a segment, titled Around the World with Aljaž, which looked at the different versions of Strictly across the world and the theme weeks they do in comparison to the UK version - including Elvis and Abba themes.
However, it appears Aljaž's return to Strictly in some form caused overwhelming emotion for fans as they headed to social media to comment. @sylvia_luisa tweeted "Anyone else actually crying at @AljazSkorjanec being on #ItTakesTwo? Miss him and his smiley face so much."
@Sam29316342 posted: "I miss seeing Alijaz trying to read the captions about him on #ittakestwo, bring him back just for that." @Dorina335 commented: "Loved this interlude with Aljaž! More of this please #ittakestwo #Strictly." @BruntonElle added: "Thanks to #ItTakesTwo for bringing back the human ray of sunshine that is @AljazSkorjanec much needed after a lack of sleep and a long (still going) day at work!"
Aljaž actually made a return to Strictly last month as he appeared in the audience during the show's BBC centenary special. Former BBC Breakfast host Dan, who competed on the show last year and made it to the quarter-finals with Nadiya Bychkova, was also in the audience alongside Aljaž's last-ever dance partner Sara Davies, and other former contestants including Judi Love and Clara Amfo. Reigning champ Rose Ayling-Ellis was also in the crowd with some of her former EastEnders co-stars rooting for James Bye.
Dan, who now presents Channel 5 News, took his daughter, Jessica along with him for the special episode and made sure she got to meet as many of the show's stars - both past and present - as possible. Posting a selfie of him, Aljaž and Sara as well as a photo of Aljaž with Jessica, whose face had been hidden by a smiling yellow emoji, Dan wrote: "Also… @AljazSkorjanec remains one of the very best humans on the planet," Dan shared.
"It was his first time back in the ballroom last night and it was lovely to see just how much affection everyone who works on Strictly has for him." Dan then added: "He also made Jessica’s night." Helen, who danced to the Blue Peter theme tune with Gorka Marquez on Saturday, soon replied, telling Dan: "Lovely to see you mr."
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