23 November 2023 , 14:38
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BBC Breakfast’s Sally Nugent has revealed the real reason for joining the Strictly Come Dancing Christmas special after going through personal woes.
The 52-year-old was one of the first three celebrity faces that were announced to be joining the 2023 special programme. The sign up comes after she opened up about her marriage breakdown.
Sally is set to partner up with Graziano Di Prima, after the journalist posted photos of the two together on the set of It Takes Two. The duo posed on the steps on the set as Sally captioned the photos: "I was in need of a little pick me up when the lovely people at Strictly called."
She added: "They kindly suggested I might like to learn to dance with @grazianodiprima in time for Christmas. I am definitely not a dancer - but I will try my best. And there is no one better to learn with. Join us on our Christmas adventure and I guarantee that we will all have fun along the way. Ciao."
Sally is dancing with Graziano (Sally Nugent/Instagram)
She will be on the Christmas show (Sally Nugent/Instagram)Speaking about joining the show, Sally revealed: "I am thrilled and slightly terrified to be taking part in this year’s Strictly Come Dancing Christmas Special. I'm hoping the judges will be kind - and filled with Christmas spirit. And I hope everyone watching at home will enjoy a little bit of Strictly magic on Christmas night."
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Sally has had a difficult last few months, after she announced her marriage split from husband Gavin Hawthorn in May. The pair were married for 13 years and have a teenage son together.
Before going their separate ways, the presenter has always kept details of her life behind the camera very private with the star never actually confirming her partner's name.
A source told the Daily Mail at the time: "It's very sad but they are no longer together. I think they tried to tough it out for quite a while as they didn't want to split up if they could possibly help it for the sake of their son but they clearly couldn't make a go of it.
"They've both been very guarded about the reasons behind their growing apart but it's been plain for a while that they had been and now it's obvious that they haven't been able to resolve that despite clearly trying for some time."
Sally is due to join the Christmas Strictly cast alongside broadcaster Dan Snow has been confirmed for the show and will dance alongside Nadiya Bychkova. Actor Jamie Borthwick - who plays Jay Brown on EastEnders - has also been confirmed for the Christmas show.
Three other contestants are set to be revealed to be competing for the Christmas glitterball trophy. The celebrities will be partnered with six professionals while Craig Revel Horwood, Motsi Mabuse, Anton Du Beke, and head judge Shirley Ballas all give their opinions on the routines, alongside the voting studio audience.