Strictly Come Dancing kicks off in Blackpool

Blackpool is firmly in the spotlight as hit BBC show Strictly Come Dancing is being broadcast to millions of home live from the Tower Ballroom.

By The Newsroom

Published 18th Nov 2017, 19:09 BST

Updated 12th Dec 2017, 03:20 BST

Mollie King and AJ Pritchard danced to Wings by Little Mix

An excited audience has been eagerly waiting to see the most glittering night in the resort's calendar get underway.

The celebrity dancers and their professional partners in this year's series of Strictly Come Dancing will have been nervously waiting for this moment, with fans of the show plus friends and family members eagerly cheering them on in the glamour of the Tower Ballroom.

Competing tonight are Joe McFadden, Mollie King, Jonnie Peacock, Alexandra Burke, Debbie McGee, Gemma Atkinson, Davood Ghadami and Susan Calman.

The show opened with a circus themed group number - inspired no doubt by the Tower's own circus - and a nod to the resort's history with a black and white segment featuring the town's famous trams.

Saturdays singer Mollie King and professional partner AJ Pritchard opened the show with a routine to Little Mix hit Wings.