Whilst Strictly Come Dancing is very strict about favouritism, on Monday, judge Shirley Ballas exclusively revealed why Nikita Kuzmin and Ellie Simmonds surprised her so much in the competition.
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The star made the revelation whilst chatting to HELLO! on the red carpet at the Pride of Britain awards 2022, adding that they "blew her away," last week with their dramatic Paso Doble.
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She said: "I would say Nikita and Ellie [surprised her the most] because this week he just blew me away. We have certain steps there's one called the La Passe, it's a stand-up step where the lady passes from side to side, she's the cape.
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He did it on his knees, he took her from side to side… it was phenomenal to watch. So I think she's doing… they're all doing amazing but I was very impressed with her this week."
© Photo: Getty ImagesShirley was at the awards with her boyfriend Daniel Taylor
The fabulous routine was performed by the duo to Montagues and Capulets, scoring them a very commendable 30 points.
So far they have taken audiences by storm, not just with their impressive dance moves but their fabulous friendship which appears to have blossomed from the experience.
Ahead of their performance last week, Nikita shared a sweet post on Instagram dedicated to his dance partner - and it was so sweet.
Nikita and Ellie have become such good friends
Captioning a selection of fun photos of the pair, he penned: "Always there for each other. As much as I’m teaching you dancing, you have taught me so much about life. Looking forward for everyone to see [sic] a different side of you tomorrow Champ," alongside a red love heart emoji.
The string of sweet snaps included a photo of them looking ultra-glamorous in their Strictly clad, as well as a number of hilarious images of the duo.
The first image of the carousel showed the most adorable moment between the pair as Ellie was captured fixing Nikita's bow tie.
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