Strictly's Kai Widdrington returns for final after illness

He wasn't spotted in a rehearsal video earlier this week.

By George Lewis

17 Dec 2022

kai widdrington, strictly come dancing 2022 professional dancer

BBC

Strictly Come Dancing star Kai Widdrington has returned to the show in time for the series final following a bout of illness.

As per tradition, all the contestants from the series will return for one final group dance during tonight’s showpiece, with the show’s official social media accounts sharing a teaser.

During the video, which showcased all the couples reuniting, fans noticed that Kaye Adams strutted down the corridor without professional partner Kai, leading viewers to question if he would appear in the final.

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Their fears have been eased, however, with Kai confirming he "had a bit of a lurgy" in the show’s Instagram story. The video, which took place backstage, saw the couple reunited, before they were amusingly gatecrashed by a fellow contestant.

"Sorry, just got to put some Vicks [vapour rub] on his chest," said Kaye, who was the first celebrity to be eliminated from the series. "Apologies everyone. I haven't been here. I've had a bit of a lurgy this week - but we're back together," said Kai, before Kaye joked: "We're back. The things I have to do!"

As they’re reuniting, the pair were interrupted by comedian Ellie Taylor, who joked: "God! Sorry, I’ll leave you to it. Crikey!"

strictly's kai widdrington and kaye adams backstage before the final

@bbcstrictlyInstagram

Tonight's final sees Hamza Yassin, Helen Skelton, Molly Rainford and Fleur East compete for the Glitterball trophy, with each couple having to perform three dances (the judges pick, the couples pick and a show-dance).

The final four prevailed in last week’s semi-final, which saw Will Mellor and Nancy Xu lose out in the final dance-off in the series.

"Where do I start ~ well, even if it still hurts, I'm still super grateful for this journey. And super proud for all the dances that we have performed on Strictly Come Dancing this year," wrote Nancy following their exit. "The memories we made in this journey are beyond everything."

Strictly Come Dancing's final airs on Saturday (December 17) at 7.05pm on BBC One, while spin-off show Strictly: It Takes Two airs on weeknights on BBC Two. Both shows also stream on BBC iPlayer.

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