“‘Strictly Come Dancing” contestant Daisy Lowe has revealed that her grandfather passed away suddenly on the first day of rehearsals for the BBC One show.
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Another jumped in: ‘Thought it was just me who had sound problems with the #Strictly launch show but apparently not’.
The 14th series of the popular Saturday night show landed 10.1m viewers at its peak and and average of 9.3m.
Jordan, who once starred on the hit BBC One show, claimed that the show bosses favour the married dancers and called them “the show’s darlings”.
Model Daisy is with Aljaz Skorjanec, who won Strictly with model Abbey Clancy in 2013.
Mr Balls, who humiliatingly lost his seat at the general election last year, has previously said the decision to go on Strictly was part of his “mid life crisis”.
Never one to hold his tongue, James – who was axed from the show in 2014 – offered his opinions on the new series, with him already tipping Louise Redknapp and Kevin Clifton for the final.
TV star Judge Rinder is with Oksana Platero, while Olympic gymnast Claudia Fragapane is with fellow new Strictly pro dancer AJ Pritchard.
Saturday night’s pre-recorded show, with judges Len Goodman, Bruno Tonioli, Darcey Bussell and Craig Revel Horwood, also featured performances from Olly Murs and Rebecca Ferguson.
Rival show, The X Factor failed to open with the same success and saw an average of 6.8 million tune in last weekend with a peak at 7.5 million.
The Strictly figures come after The X Factor suffered its lowest launch ratings in 10 years, despite a revamp by Simon Cowell.
Strictly proved more popular than The X Factor, which attracted 8.3m viewers.
An accomplished singer and West End actor, Will Young will be hoping to add dancer to his varied CV when he takes to the ballroom in Strictly Come Dancing.
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Claudia Winkleman has announced that she has quit Film 2016, saying that it “wasn’t an easy decision” to leave the movie review show.
