While the fact that she once won a tap dance competition has sparked an 'unfair advantage' row ahead of her being on Strictly, Helen Skelton has actually competed on the show before.
The former Blue Peter favourite turned presenter of the likes of Countryfile and Holiday Hit Squad, was heavily tipped to be a contestant on the new series of the smash hit BBC show, long before her name was officially announced on the Strictly line-up. Countdown legend Carol Vorderman inadvertently let the cat out the bag about her signing up, with a telling reply to a post on Twitter, with Helen ending up being the last of this year's 15 dancing celebs to be confirmed.
This weekend, the 39-year-old has bit it by 'fix' claims after it emerged that she once won a tap dancing competition. Quotes from an interview in 2016 have been unearthed, in which she admits to winning a Ken Dodd tap award at the age of 17.
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But, while you could argue that that proves she has previous dancing experience, the more tell-tale sign that Helen is well equipped for a turn on the Strictly dancefloor is the fact she was a contestant on the programme's Christmas Special, back in 2012. She was partnered with Artem Chigvintsev, a pro champion with Kara Tointon, to All I Need for Christmas Is You, and was awarded a 37 out of 40 score from the judges.
Helen isn't the first star in Strictly history to make the jump from a one-off special to the main series, with Maisie Smith winning the Children in Need challenge in 2019, a year before going onto reach the final in Strictly itself.
The accusations surrounding any 'unfair advantage' Helen might have, have been shut down by a number of fans online, with one Twitter user fuming: "Being able to tap dance doesn’t mean you’re the best dancer at ballroom. I hope Helen Skelton does really well and shame on the media for being ridiculous as always."
Another tweeted: "so as a female you aren't allowed to say you've won something for fear of being branded a boaster."
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