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Hamza Yassin and Helen Skelton talk 'rivalry' as they place joint top of Strictly leaderboard

The pair were joint top of the Strictly leaderboard on Saturday

strictly helen and hamza 5
Emmy Griffiths
TV & Film Editor
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Hamza Yassin and Helen Skelton are both part of the Countryfile family, and opened up about taking part in Strictly Come Dancing – as well as their healthy rivalry with one another on the show!

MORE: Strictly's Helen Skelton steals the limelight in gorgeous slinky cut-out gown

When asked if there was any rivalry between the two ahead of the new series, Helen opened up about coming to the dancing competition with her co-star, saying: "[Hamza has] the most calming personality… he’s so zen. Have you heard about his lifestyle? He lives in a village in the middle of nowhere and clearly the whole village relies on him for everything.

WATCH: Helen Skelton shares behind-the-scenes glimpse of hilarious Strictly rehearsal

"He does their shopping, he picks up their prescriptions. I think he’s one of those people put on earth to remind people how to behave. He’s such a nice man. But he hates dogs!"

hamza helen

Hamza is a favourite to win this series

She then laughed, adding: "He doesn’t, he doesn’t!" He was joined by fellow celeb Ellie Taylor, who jokingly added: "Awful to old people!"

Hamza added: "The beauty about this group is that we're all in it together, we're having the same feelings… Competition? No. Healthy rivalry? Maybe. But we’re all in it to have a good time!" He then joked about sharing the Glitterball trophy, adding: "They did it in the Olympics, they both shared the gold medal!"

helen gorka

Helen and Gorka topped the leaderboard at the weekend

The pair recently became joint top of the leaderboard during the show's special BBC 100-year anniversary episode, which saw Jayde Adams and Karen Hauer exit the series.

MORE: Helen Skelton makes raw confession about Richie Myler split - 'I don't see myself as a victim'

READ: Jayde Adams responds to negative comments after exit - 'Strictly women get it worse than the men'

Speaking about her exit on It Takes Two, Jayde explained: "The reason I tackle it the way I do is because for every horrible comment there's a whole bunch of them that are lovely. I just hope with my resilience I can show that sticks and stones may break our bones but names will never hurt us. I really hope that's something that I've left as a legacy.

"Because, I will say, women specifically on this show get it in the neck [on social media]. Whether it's me, whether it’s Karen, whether it's Shirley, the women get it worse than the men."

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