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Manchester Evening News
Manchester Evening News
Entertainment
Katie Fitzpatrick

Will Mellor gets BBC Strictly fans hot under collar with raunchy Dirty Dancing routine before heartbreaking speech

Will Mellor had Strictly fans 'confused' as they watched him channel Patrick Swayze in the raunchy film Dirty Dancing on Saturday night's show. Will, who had Corrie fans gripped as drug dealer Harvey Gaskell in the ITV soap, caused Strictly Come Dancing viewers to go all hot under the collar as he and professional dance partner Nancy Xu performed the American Smooth to Cry To Me from the 1987 movie.

Will, 46, from Bredbury, thrust his hips a la Swayze in a white shirt and black trousers. Fans flocked to Twitter to have their say and confess their crushes on the former Two Pints of Lager and Hollyoaks star.

@alicecousins92 asked: "When did will mellor get sexy i’m so confused @Bufferb2012 decided: "Will Mellor is just filth." And @carolynarnoldNI admitted: "Seeing Will Mellor in a new light."

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@TheCommentariat tweeted: "I must say Will has sauce." @katesaunders13 exclaimed: "OMG that was lush." And @zenalalita joked: "#Strictly @Mellor76 have just woken up on the floor!!!!!!! the last thing I did see was a hip thrust then i must have blacked out."

@mommab2km said: "Wow... made me stopped what I was doing! Made me very hot under the collar!!!!" "Ow that was so much goodness," gushed judge Motsi Mabuse. And fellow judge Craig Revel Horwood told him: "You've made ballroom look sexy. It was brilliant."

But as Will made his way up the stairs to chat to host Claudia Winkleman he became emotional as she pointed out that his mum and sister were in the audience. Their support clearly meant a lot to Will who joined the cast Coronation Street in 2021 as "out-and-out baddie", drugs lord Harvey.

In April 2020 he revealed the devastating news that his dad Bill had passed away. Motioning at his mum in the audience he said: "You don't know what she's been through. She's an unbelievable woman. I'm so happy she's here tonight. She's everything to me. My mum is the world. If she's happy I'm happy."

Speaking on BBC Breakfast in August he said about joining Strictly that his 'mindset' had changed. "My mindset completely changed a while back and I just thought I’ve got to start doing things that frighten me a little bit and step out of your comfort zone, and that’s what’s life is about," he said. And when I got the phone call for this I just said ‘yes, I’m going to do it.'"

Will made an emotional speech for his mum (BBC)

"Also I lost my dad in 2020 and I just thought from then I’ve just got to grab life and I’ve got to do things and I’ve got to create new memories and my mindset changed, and that’s sort of one of the reasons why."

Will, who has starred in the dramas No Offence, Broadchurch and Line Of Duty, also added: "It’s my mum’s favourite show so she’s had it really tough over the last few years. So I thought we’ll do this…"

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