Strictly Come Dancing made a glitzy return to screens last weekend, but fans don’t have to wait until Saturdays for their fix of the dancing favourite as spin-off show It Takes Two is back, airing weekdays on BBC Two.
Week one saw all the series 20 dancers making their dance floor debut, but the chats with It Takes Two host Fleur East sees them revealing the behind-the-scenes secrets.
The celebrity line-up was confirmed last month, among them former Love Island Tasha Ghouri, 26. The reality star, who was born deaf, recently paid a heartwarming tribute to previous winner Rose Ayling-Ellis, 29.
Former EastEnders star Ayling-Ellis was the first deaf contestant on the show and won in 2021 alongside Giovanni Pernice, 34.
Following in Ayling-Ellis’ footsteps, Ghouri impressed the judges with her dance floor debut over the weekend, and professional partner Aljas Skorjanec talked about potentially having to challenge her more, joking Ghouri was “a disappointment”.
After pointing out Ghouri’s praise from the judges, It Takes Two host Fleur East wondered: “Aljaz, when you started training with Tasha and you saw how capable she is, did you change your tact?”
“No, I feel like not at all,” the 34-year-old admitted, jokingly adding: “It’s been such a disappointment in rehearsals every single day!”
Laughing, Ghouri stood up and announced: “I’m going to go then!”
“Yeah, do you know what, I’m not necessarily changing the teaching techniques or habits or anything,” the Slovenian dancer continued.
“I feel like if you do Strictly with love and if you do it with care, I feel like you can smash every single dance.
“The only difference is probably that normally I would have a B, C, D, E, F option ready if the A doesn’t work, and so far we have only been stuck with the A option, which is lovely!”
Ghouri’s signing to the show sparked some backlash from viewers who argued she was already a trained dancer and therefore had an “unfair advantage” over the other contestants.
Ghouri appeared on ITV’s Love Island in 2022 and has since amassed a following of more than 2.2 million across her social media network.
The reality star has also worked with 10 Downing Street, The Department of Education and MED-AL to champion issues close to her heart as well as being a published author following her debut novel Hits Different and podcast host on Superpowers with Tasha.
However, Ghouri has also worked as a dancer and has reportedly had some training, which some fans took issue with over her Strictly sign-up.
According to Move It Dance, Ghouri worked as a self-employed dancer behind a bar. She has also appeared in music videos and has in the past suggested that filming for Love Island had obstructed her filming for the 2023 film Barbie, which she had auditioned for as a dancer.
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Move It Dance also goes on to say the TV personality graduated from Creative Academy and has “excelled in various dance contracts”.
Following the announcement last month that she’d be joining the 20th series of Strictly, an excited Ghouri stated: “Pinch me, I can’t believe I’m going to be on Strictly Come Dancing!
“I’ve been watching the show since I was little – it’s a firm Ghouri family favourite – so this is a total dream come true.
“I know it’s going to be an unforgettable experience and I hope to represent and make everyone proud out on that dancefloor.”
