Strictly Come Dancing paid tribute to two of its former stars, with Dave Myers and Robin Windsor being recognised in Saturday’s (September 14) launch show.
Myers, who was best known as one half of the Hairy Bikers, participated in the 11th series of the BBC show with Karen Hauer, but he sadly passed away in February aged 66.
Professional dancer Windsor, who appeared in five series of the show between 2010 and 2014, passed away in the same month at the age of 44, and several stars paid tribute to him.
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Strictly returned with its launch show for the 22nd series, and it paid tribute to Myers and Windsor in the end credits.
The tribute was warmly received by fans of the show, with one writing on X/Twitter: “Touching tribute to Dave Meyers and Robin Windsor at the end of tonight’s #Strictly I enjoyed the whole launch show #Strictly2024”.
“What a fun first show that was , and the the tribute to Dave Myers and Robin Windsor was heartwarming #Strictly”, wrote a second fan.
A third added a reference to Amy Dowden’s return, writing: “Amy’s return was emotional but the dedication to Dave Myers & Robin Windsor finished me #strictly”.
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“That was a really fun launch show! And lovely dedication to Dave Myers and Robin Windsor at the end I’m really sad that Lauren, Kai and Carlos have been benched though…someone has to be but not necessarily who I would have chosen if I’m honest #Strictly”, added another fan.
The launch show saw the 15 celebrities find out their respective professional partners, and the pairings included Paul Merson and Karen Hauer, Pete Wicks and Jowita Przystal, Montell Douglas and Johannes Radebe, and Tasha Ghouri and Aljaž Škorjanec.
Strictly Come Dancing will return on Saturday, September 14 on BBC One, while spin-off Strictly: It Takes Two airs on weeknights on BBC Two. Both shows are available to stream on BBC iPlayer.
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Reporter, Digital Spy George is a freelance writer who specialises in Movies and TV. After graduating with a degree in Film Studies and Journalism from De Montfort University, in which he analysed the early works of Richard Linklater for his dissertation, he wrote for several websites for GRV Media. His film tastes vary from blockbusters like Mission: Impossible and John Wick to international directors such as Paolo Sorrentino and Hirokazu Kore-eda, and has attended both the London and Berlin film festivals.