Blackpool Here We Come!

Strictly favourites Alexandra, Debbie and Joe on getting ready for this year’s trip to the seaside – and the pressure to win...

- Emma Bullimore

ENTERTAINMENT

Strictly Come Dancing

SATURDAY / BBC1 / 6.45PM SUNDAY / BBC1 / 7.15PM

Grab your novelty sunglasses, kiss-me-quick hats and your winter coat, Strictly is off to the seaside for its annual Blackpool extravaganza – even the donkeys will be waltzing along the seafront!

It’s the episode that budding champions dream of, as the elegant Tower Ballroom provides the setting for stunning performances.

And, for our couples, there’s the prospect of an enormous sprung dancefloor, backing dancers and an audience expecting the best routines of the series so far. Gulp.

Following the shock departure of favourite Aston Merrygold, frontrunners Alexandra Burke, Debbie McGee and Joe McFadden will be hoping to leave Blackpool with more than a stick of rock – they’ll want a spot at the top of the leaderboard and to shimmy a little bit closer to the glitterball trophy.

Here Alexandra, 29, Debbie, 59, and Joe, 42, tell TV Times why the seaside special is so spectacular, and reveal their memories of days along the prom…

Do you have fond memories of Blackpool?