Francesca Shillcock
Did you know that Strictly professional dancer Kai Widdrington has a well-known parent – find out all about his successful father here…
Kai Widdrington is one of Strictly Come Dancing's newest recruits to their roster of professional dancers. The 26-year-old has certainly made quite the impression in his first series alongside his celebrity partner, AJ Odudu – and fans are convinced the pair will make it to the final.
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It's clear that success runs in Kai's family, as his father, Tommy, is a well-known footballer. Get the details here…
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On Saturday night's episode, host Claudia Winkleman was chatting to the dancing duo after their show-stopping Charleston, before the camera panned to Kai's proud dad who was watching from the audience.
Kai's dad, Tommy, is a former sportsman who played in the English Football League, making over 372 appearances in his 15-year career. Now, Tommy no longer plays professionally but works as a manager.
The Strictly star even almost followed in his father's footsteps. At age 12, Kai was offered a contract within the Premier League but turned it down to instead pursue a career in dancing, and we're so glad he did!
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Kai and AJ wowed with their Charleston at the weekend
Meanwhile, Kai and AJ have been blowing the judges and audiences away with their fantastic routines in the ballroom, and last weekend was no different. The pair's performance included some jaw-dropping lifts, which earned them unanimous praise from the judges, with Craig Revel Horwood deeming the dance: "Ah-may-zing!"
After receiving their critiques, they headed up to Claudia, where AJ ended up breaking down in tears as she revealed the difficulties she'd faced during the week.
As her voice broke, she explained: "This week has been really hard, when you take a lot of tumbles. All of those lifts, I kept landing flat on my face, and when you take a lot of tumbles and ice baths and you're bashed and bruised, you end up losing confidence in yourself a little bit."
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