Fans have been flooding a 'precious' new update on Strictly Come Dancing rehearsals with messages as one of the show's stars orchestrated a sweet surprise.
Those who follow the BBC One dance show will recall that Janette Manrara was a professional dancer on the show for several years before she left and became the co-host of Strictly's spin-off show, It Takes Two.
And that's not Janette's only link to show as she also appeared in the ballroom alongside her real-life husband, Aljaz Skorjanec. He went on to quit the show himself in 2022, before making a much-welcome return last year.
Now, he's back in rehearsals for Strictly 2025, with the professional dancers coming together this week to start preparing for the pre-record of the group numbers for the upcoming series.
It was back in April that the BBC confirmed the professional line-up for the upcoming run of the hit dance show. As well as Aljaz, Amy Dowden, Nadiya Bychkova, Karen Hauer, Katya Jones, Neil Jones, Gorka Marquez and Luba Mushtuk will all take to the floor once more.
They will also be joined by Jowita Przystal, Johannes Radebe, Dianne Buswell, Nancy Xu, Kai Widdrington, Michelle Tsiakkas, Carlos Gu, Lauren Oakley, Nikita Kuzmin and Vito Coppola.
It was also confirmed that two new professional dancers will be joining the show and the newcomers have since been revealed as So You Think You Can Dance champion Alexis Warr and Australia’s Dancing With The Stars' Julian Caillon.
Now, fans have been given a unique insight into rehearsals as Janette surprised the pros with a visit alongside her and Aljaz's young daughter, Lyra Rose.
Alongside a video of their surprise, Janette shared on Instagram: "Come with us to surprise the @bbcstrictly pros in their first week of rehearsals! Lyra Rose was so excited to surprise her daddy @aljazskorjanec and get some inside scoop on how rehearsals were going.
"She loved telling them some stories of her own, giving lots of hugs, surprising daddy, and having a little dance w/ one of our news pros @julian_caillon! The cutest afternoon break for all the pros working so hard! #StrictlyComeDancing #StrictlyProfessionals."
And fans rushed to respond. @ilovejanettex said: "Awww this is so precious." @duffy1960 commented: "So beautiful and how lucky to get so many aunty and uncles hugs along with daddy."
@deniseaustin2020 echoed: "That is so beautiful. So many lovely Aunties and Uncles. Wonderful extended family." @patmason656 wrote: "Aww how lovely."
@lisbethflach replied: "Awww!! This is precious! Lots of love and support from a biiig Strictly fan! I feel the buzz already." @mhairekelly posted: "Melting my heart! This is just the cutest." @bekiehigginson added: "Ohhhh this is the cutest thing ever."
