Strictly's Nicola Roberts shares why she was slow to pick up routine ahead of Christmas special

"I like to do a good job."

By Iona Rowan

23 Dec 2022

nicola roberts and giovanni pernice, strictly come dancing christmas special 2022

BBC

Nicola Roberts has shared why she was "slow" to pick up the dance routine ahead of Strictly Come Dancing's 2022 Christmas Special.

The Girls Aloud singer will be waltzing onto the dance floor with her pro partner Giovanni Pernice come Christmas Day, though she admits training was more difficult than she had anticipated and that she had been "beating herself up" about it.

"My process is quite slow," she told the Daily Mail, before explaining why her time in Girls Aloud contributes to this.

"When you're in a band, you have weeks to perfect a two-hour show, so there'll be some certain numbers that you pick up quickly [and] numbers that might take a good couple of weeks to really sink in.

"And that's my process. That's how I've learned over the years."

nicola roberts, christmas strictly come dancing

BBC

Nicola continued: "Obviously, with Strictly, you don't have the luxury of having time. It wasn't until after the fourth session that I felt like we were in a good space."

"Before that, I was kind of, like, beating myself up and not understanding the routine, not grasping the technical aspects, and the position is still not there every time," she added.

"And it’s a lot to think about, so it’s been very fast, but I like to be professional and I like to do a good job, and I’ve had a great time!"

nicola roberts, giovanni pernice, strictly come dancing christmas special 2022

BBC

Giovanni also chimed in, stating that Nicola is ultimately a "good dancer."

"She is really good. She picked it up slowly, but with her background, I can see that she is a good dancer," he said. "We are doing the waltz and we’ve gone for quality, and there's a lot of quality there."

Strictly Come Dancing returns on Christmas Day (December 25) on BBC One, while spin-off show Strictly: It Takes Two will air on weeknights next year on BBC Two. Both shows also stream on BBC iPlayer.

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