Sue Perkins details injury on set of new show with Mel Giedroyc

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Former Great British Bake Off presenter Mel Giedroyc is set to perform with professional dancer Neil Jones in the Christmas Day special of Strictly Come Dancing. The 53-year-old has admitted that the first time the dancer sat her down to show her their routine, she considered “calling her agent” in a panic. 

Mel and Neil, 39, are set to perform a routine to Vanilla Ice’s Ice Ice Baby in the festive edition of the BBC’s flagship show tonight. 

Reflecting on when she got matched up with the dancer, Mel said: “What a laugh, from day one. I was really scared on day one, we hadn’t really met before then, other than a brief encounter where we briefly passed each other in the corridor at an awards ceremony.

“So he sat me down and showed me the routine, which went on for a very long time, and in my head I was panicking.

“I thought, ‘I need to phone my agent,’” the comedian admitted. 

Weighing in on Mel’s initial fears about the routine, Neil added: “On day one, she went for a stress nap for an hour and a half. 

“She had her blanket with her and everything.

“There is a hell of a lot of steps in it, and you manage it and make it look good,” he told the presenter. 

Mel confessed that when her agent rang her to ask whether she wanted to be a part of the show, it took her “about a second” to accept the opportunity. 

“It is all my Christmases come at once. Christmas – favourite time of year, Strictly – favourite show, put them together, I can’t believe I am here to be honest,” she said excitedly. 

The star went on to describe the experience as “life affirming” and said that she hoped to spread some “Christmas cheer” to viewers at home. 

Neil was paired up with EastEnders actress Nina Wadia in this year’s series of Strictly Come Dancing, although he didn’t get to dance for long thanks to the couple being the first to be sent home from the competition. 

Now Neil has the chance to go for gold once more with Mel, who has a background in musical theatre. 

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Craig Revel Horwood, Motsi Mabuse, Anton Du Beke and Shirley Ballas will all return as judges for Strictly’s Christmas Day special. 

Aside from Mel and Neil, pop star Anne-Marie is also set to make her Strictly debut with partner Graziano Di Prima, performing the Cha Cha to Feliz Navidad by Gwen Stefani.

Meanwhile, First Dates star Fred Sirieix has become so committed to his stint that he has even dyed his hair red to match his partner Dianne Buswell.

Other stars taking to the floor include The Repair Shop presenter Jay Blades, BBC Radio 5 Live’s Adrian Chiles and news presenter Moira Stewart. 

Mel is probably best known for hosting BAFTA  Award-winning series The Great British Bake Off with her comedy partner Sue Perkins, before it left the BBC and moved to Channel 4 in 2016.  

Previously, the pair presented the lunchtime chat shows Light Lunch and Late Lunch on Channel 4.

The second season of their show Hitmen also recently premiered on Sky Comedy at the end of September. 

The Strictly Come Dancing Christmas Special airs today on BBC One at 5.10pm.

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