Who is Kai Widdrington? Meet Strictly Come Dancing professional dancer
Everything you need to know about the Britain's Got Talent contestant turned Strictly pro.
Kai Widdrington has been impressing Strictly Come Dancing viewers each week with his routines alongside broadcasting legend Angela Rippon.
Widdrington, who joined the dancing competition in 2021, has said what an honour it has been dancing with Rippon each week, and they have been scoring in the 30s and high 20s every time they step onto the dance floor.
As they head into the fifth week of the competition, Widdrington and Rippon will be doing a Tango to Tangier by Sexteto Mayor, hoping to score highly as they have been doing each week.
While he is a fairly new face to the professional dancer line-up, he is certainly not new to dancing - or television for that matter, having previously made the finals of Britain's Got Talent. Here is everything you need to know about Kai Widdrington.
Who is Kai Widdrington?
Age: 28
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With a father and brother who are both professional footballers, Kai Widdrington nearly had a very different career by following in their footsteps, but at 12-years-old he chose dancing over a Premier League contract.
It was a move that paid off as he became Junior World Latin American champion two years later, and in 2012 reached the final of Britain's Got Talent with dance partner Natalia Jeved.
In 2014, Kai competed in Britain's Got Talent once again as part of ballroom dance group Kings & Queens, which also featured future Strictly professionals Katya and Neil Jones. Kings & Queens were eventually eliminated during the fifth live semifinal, losing to vocal group Jack Pack.
In 2017 Kai was announced as a professional dancer for the first series of Dancing With The Stars - the Irish edition of Strictly - competing for four years in a row until 2020. He came second in both 2018 and 2020, so here's hoping he'll go all the way on Strictly one day!
While Kai is now a permanent fixture amongst the Strictly pros, when he joined in 2021, it wasn't his first appearance on the show as he previously appeared during the professionals' Remembrance Day 2020 routine, dancing with Amy Dowden.
Kai is also in a relationship with fellow strictly pro Nadiya Bychkova, who will both be going on a tour in 2024.
Announcing the news on Instagram, Nadiya and Kai said: "It's official, we're going back on tour in 2024 with our brand-new show, 'Behind the Magic'!"
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What has Kai said about being on Strictly Come Dancing?
Kai has been a fan of Strictly Come Dancing for a long time, having watched the show ever since it began back in 2004.
When he joined the show back in 2021, he said: "This is my childhood dream come true. Watching Strictly from the very first series as a young boy from Southampton and now 18 years later, to be a professional dancer on the show is the most amazing feeling and the biggest accomplishment of my career."
When does Strictly Come Dancing 2023 air?
The fifth Strictly Come Dancing 2023 live show will air at 6:35pm on Saturday 21st October on BBC One, the BBC has confirmed.
It will be followed by the results show on Sunday 22nd October.
All the celebrities will be performing, the judges will be scoring, and the public will be voting.
Grab your sequins and get ready for another epic show!
Strictly Come Dancing continues on Saturday 21st October at 6:35pm on BBC One and BBC iPlayer. The results show will air on Sunday 22nd October at 7:15pm on BBC One and BBC iPlayer.
Check out more of our Entertainment coverage or visit our TV Guide and Streaming Guide to find out what's on.
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