Delta Goodrem will have a new dance partner for Week 8 of Strictly Come Dancing after her regular partner, Kai Widdrington, was ruled out of this weekend's shows because of illness.
The change was announced on Friday's episode of the spin-off show It Takes Two. Presenter Ellie Taylor told viewers that Widdrington could not perform on Saturday's live show and that fellow professional Aljaž Škorjanec would step in to dance the Argentine tango with Goodrem. She added that the show was sending Widdrington lots of love and wishing him a quick recovery.
Goodrem and Škorjanec will dance to Missing by Everything But The Girl. The BBC confirmed the swap on Friday. The live show airs on BBC One.
The Australian singer responded on Instagram, writing that she would miss her partner very much on Saturday night. The couple had been moving closer to the show's famous Blackpool week.
It is not the first time Goodrem has had to adapt this series. She missed Icons Week in October after fracturing a rib and was given a bye through to the next round. She returned on October 24 with Widdrington and earned the series' first perfect score of 10 for a rumba to Céline Dion's It's All Coming Back to Me Now.
Week 8 brings its own changes. Nine couples are due on the floor, and Jaime Winstone returns after missing last week's show through injury, which meant she received a bye.
The competition is also tightening. Last weekend, actress Bethany Antonia and her partner Nancy Xu landed in the dance-off for the third time on Sunday's results show on November 8.
Away from the dance floor, Goodrem is releasing her eighth studio album, Pure, later this year.
