Strictly Come Dancing returned to our screens with an explosion of glitter and sequins as the 15 celebrities met their professional dance partners for the first time.
The flagship BBC One dance competition had the launch show on Friday evening where there were moments of excitement and rejoice as last year's Glitterball winner Rose Ayling-Ellis returned to the ballroom floor for one last hoorah with dance partner Giovanni Pernice.
One person who hopes to follow the former Eastenders star's footsteps is ex-Coronation Street actress Kym Marsh.
The 46-year-old has finally been convinced to take her role on the ballroom floor after several failed attempts from BBC bosses.
The Morning Live presenter has been paired with Italian dancing pro Graziano Di Prima and it is fair to say that Kym is delighted with the partnership.
The pair already have a great friendship thanks to a segment on the BBC morning show called "Strictly fitness", where the hosts and viewers can get their blood pumping with gentle exercises for all ages.
It is through this that Kym and Graziano got to know one another and hit it off so well that the Italian has watched the former Hear'Say singer perform on stage during a production of Fatal Attraction in Manchester.
Kym explained in an interview with OK! magazine: "I have been very fortunate to have met several of the pros while I've been doing Morning Live because they've come on and done, the little Strictly fitness bit at the end.
"That said, not knowing them absolutely inside out, but knowing them nonetheless, and actually Graziano is one of those that I got to know quite well. He came to watch me - him and his wife - came to watch me in Fatal Attraction when I was on in Manchester - just a genuinely lovely man."
She added: "I’m a huge fan of the show and can’t believe I’m going to go from watching at home in my pyjamas to actually dancing in front of the judges in a glittery dress, it’s unreal!"
Kym recently opened up about the reason she decided to take part in this year's Strictly, which got underway on Saturday night with the first live show, after years of turning the BBC show down.
It will be a busy time for Kym as she is currently filming Waterloo Road and BBC show Morning Live on Mondays.
In June last year, Kym revealed that her dad Dave had been diagnosed with incurable prostate cancer after delaying getting a check-up during the pandemic.
Admitting that she doesn't know how much time he has left, Kym said that she wanted to do the show so he could come and see her dance.
She also hopes that her husband Scott Ratcliff - who is a major in the the army Parachute Regiment - will be able to see her as he may be deployed next year.
"I don't know how long my dad's going to be around, we have no idea, but we know he's not well," she told the Mirror and other news publications ahead of the Strictly launch. "So you're just like, right, I'm going to to things I know he'd love me to do and he'll come and see me.
"My husband's in the army and he might be deployed again next year. So you just think, lets do things while you can."
Do you have a story to sell? Get in touch with us at webcelebs@mirror.co.uk or call us direct at 0207 29 33033
