
Cumbria’s Helen Skelton and dance partner Gorka Marquez will sashay their way to Blackpool with tonight’s sizzling salsa on Strictly Come Dancing.
The couples are fighting for the chance to dance at the iconic Blackpool Tower Ballroom – and with only nine couples left, the competition is hotting up.
The show hasn’t used the ballroom for three years due to the pandemic.
Helen and Gorka’s salsa was praised by the judges – Shirley and Craig said Helen had to work on her ‘spotting’ – keeping eye contact with Gorka – and Motsi said she looked a bit nervous when she danced with Gorka, but her solo pieces were ‘out of this world’.
However, Craig – always the hardest judge to please – did say he really enjoyed it.

The dance included three ambitious lifts – and Anton said he was really enjoying how much Helen was developing every week.
They were scored eight by each judge – giving them a score of 32. They are fifth on the leaderboard, with top marks going to Fleur East and Vito Coppola with 39.