McFly star to perform on Strictly with Paddington Bear for ‘musicals week’

The remaining five contestants will also take part in a dance relay in what is a first for the show

McFly's Tom Fletcher is set to dance with Paddington Bear during Strictly Come Dancing's upcoming musicals week.

The singer, 40, and the bear from the West End production will take to the ballroom in the dancing competition’s quarter-final this weekend, the BBC announced.

Fletcher, a former contestant who wrote the music and lyrics for the new Paddington musical, joins other special guests, including the cast of the Olivier Award-winning musical parody, Titanique.

The week will also see the five remaining contestants perform a dance relay, a new addition to the show.

The dancers will showcase a five-minute routine, choreographed by Matt Flint, that sees reality TV star Amber Davies and her dance partner Nikita Kuzmin perform to Trip A Little Light Fantastic from the musical Mary Poppins Returns.

In relay-style, EastEnders actress Balvinder Sopal and professional dancer Julian Caillon will follow with a routine to With A Little Bit Of Luck from My Fair Lady.

The relay performance will feature eight additional dancers, and will start and finish with the couples dancing together (BBC)

Social media star George Clarke and professional Alexis Warr will then dance to Consider Yourself from Oliver!, and after that former Lioness Karen Carney and her partner Carlos Gu will dance to a song from Half A Sixpence called Flash Bang Wallop.

Former Emmerdale actor Lewis Cope and his partner Katya Jones will finish the routine with a dance to Me Ol’ Bamboo from Chitty Chitty Bang Bang.

The relay performance will feature eight additional dancers, and will start and finish with the couples dancing together.

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Musicals week will also see Strictly’s professional dancers perform to Cell Block Tango from Chicago.

In last Sunday’s episode, Doctor Who star Alex Kingston and professional dancer Johannes Radebe were eliminated from the series.

Kingston’s departure came after she lost the dance-off to Sopal and Caillon.

Kingston called the experience a “journey of a lifetime”, and said she felt “so lucky” to take part in the show.

Strictly will return on Saturday at 6.50pm, followed by the results show on Sunday at 7.45pm, and will be available to watch on BBC One and BBC iPlayer.