Strictly's Dani Dyer and her professional dance partner Nikita Kuzmin embrace as they leave intense rehearsals together

Strictly's Dani Dyer and her professional dance partner Nikita Kuzmin shared a hug as they left rehearsals on Monday. 

The former Love Island star, 30, appeared in high spirits after practising her samba to Lush Life by Zara Larsson with Nikita, 28. 

Dani cut a sporty figure in burgundy leggings and a white zip-up hoodie while Nikita rocked a crochet bucket hat and black and white checked trousers. 

Dani has returned for her second year after an ankle injury forced her to withdraw early in last year's competition. 

The television personality was paired with Nikita again, after being partnered with him last year. 

During the launch show, Dani said how devastated she was when she had to leave the competition after fracturing her foot while performing the quickstep. 

She said: 'Do you know what? It’s amazing, last year I was devastated, I was heartbroken for days. 

'I locked myself in my room, and my mum was like knocking on my door, and she was like, "that’s enough now, you’ve got to get out of bed". 

'I was like, "I’ve got nothing to get up for’" (and) mum, she was like, "you’ve got three children," so yeah, when they asked me to come back, I was like, ‘yes, please’, I’m just so grateful.' 

Dani said she was 'over the moon' and 'so, so happy' to be back with Nikita again.

In an interview with the Daily Mail's Weekend Magazine, the TV star laughed off if she would ever become a victim to the notorious Strictly curse, which has seen contestants leave their real-life lovers for their professional dance partners. 

'Jarrod's very laid-back, I'm not,' she laughed. 'I think that's why we work so well because we're polar opposites and balance each other out.'

Dani also hit back at accusations of unfair advantage after it emerged she'd attended weekend stage school as a girl, retorting that she stopped dancing as a teenager and had little memory of those childhood lessons. 

Saturday night ushered in a new era for Strictly Come Dancing as the show received a major shakeup on its 22nd year. 

The BBC opted to rip up the rulebook and abandon the show's tried and tested formula with a new lineup of presenters, unexpected celebrity contestants and a revamp to the partnering process. 

However, the programme's bold gamble hasn't paid off, with viewers underwhelmed by the new format and failing to give the show the ratings boost the Beeb had hoped for. 

The pre-recorded launch show peaked at 5.8million viewers, according to overnight figures, up slightly on last year’s peak of 5.6million. 

However, not all viewers remained loyal, and accounting for those who ultimately switched off, the episode averaged at 5.3million viewers, down from 5.4million in 2025.

High up on the list of viewer complaints were the new hosting trio, with bemused fans asking why 'three' hosts were needed to replace Tess Daly and Claudia Winkleman.