Bond actor Colin Salmon to dance 007 routine during Hollywood-themed Strictly

Colin Salmon is to get his 007 moment on Strictly Come Dancing this weekend - by performing a routine to a Bond theme.

The actor and partner Kristina Rihanoff will dance to Tina Turner's "Goldeneye", the signature tune from the 1995 movie starring Pierce Brosnan as the suave agent.

Salmon has featured in three Bond films as chief of staff Charles Robinson from Tomorrow Never Dies to Die Another Day, and was touted as a possible replacement for Brosnan at one stage.

Their dance is part of a Hollywood-themed edition of the BBC1 show which will see Louis Smith and Flavia Cacace re-interpreting a routine from Dirty Dancing.

Salmon, 49, and Rihanoff had only limited time to practise this week as the actor had to head to Vancouver in Canada to shoot extra scenes for a TV drama called Arrow.

Rihanoff, 35, had to fly out to join him to squeeze in rehearsal time but the pair were still only able to train for two days prior to today's dress rehearsal.

Earlier this week Salmon told his professional partner in a message online that they would have to make the sessions more intensive and would "be dancing ourselves to a frazzle".

The pair will be battling fatigue by the time the programme comes round tomorrow, with Rihanoff admitting the globetrotting was already making her feel "sooo tired".

Meanwhile hopes are growing that Olympic cycle champion Victoria Pendleton looks to be back in the saddle after a poor performance on the opening show.

The retired track cycling ace struggled with her first live dance, ending up in tears, but made a recovery during the second week's competition.

Now insiders say she is really getting to grips with the discipline and could be a force to be reckoned with as the contest goes on. A source said she was "getting much better" and could well make it through to the later stages of the competition.

She and Brendan Cole will be dancing to Up Where We Belong by Joe Cocker and Jennifer Warnes, from the Richard Gere movie An Officer And A Gentleman.

PA