Strictly's Aljaz talks winning win Tasha Ghouri as he reveals why he really returned to BBC show

Tasha Ghouri and Aljaz Skorjanec became the archetypal mates connected this year’s Strictly Come Dancing to onshore a cleanable people past weekend, aft inspiring Craig Revel-Horwood to particulate disconnected his 10 paddle pursuing their flawless American Smooth.

But instrumentality favourite Aljaz wasn’t adjacent successful the 20th day bid until a fewer weeks earlier it launched, having discontinue aft a nine-year stint successful 2022. Hastily drafted successful astatine the 11th hr erstwhile Graziano di Prima was sacked by the BBC for his “unacceptable behaviour” towards erstwhile spouse Zara McDermott, it would beryllium understandable if Aljaz felt a small connected the backmost foot.

However, flashing his trademark ear-to-ear grin, helium says that becoming the archetypal pro dancer successful Strictly’s agelong past ever to beryllium invited backmost onto the amusement has made him thing but incredibly happy. “I replaced nobody,” helium declares, erstwhile asked if his instrumentality felt bittersweet due to the fact that of the circumstances. “I felt similar coming back. I decided myself to measurement away, and past I came backmost into my ain dancing shoes. And I'm inactive doing Strictly precisely the aforesaid mode arsenic I did earlier I left. And I'm truly happy. I'm arrogant of it.”

Aljaz, 34, says that, having started connected the programme successful 2013, he’s seen scores of pro dancers travel and spell - successful information the lone 1 who is inactive determination from erstwhile helium started is Karen Hauer. “I person ever tried to bash Strictly successful my ain affirmative way, focused connected my celebrities 100% of the time,” helium says. “It feels adjacent amended 2nd clip around, to beryllium honest. I consciousness similar it's 2013 again, erstwhile I was a newbie doing this.”

Slovenian-born Aljaz announced successful March 2022 that helium had decided to quit, saying helium had “lots of breathtaking worldly planned”. But aboriginal that twelvemonth his wife, erstwhile Strictly dancer Janette Manrara, became large with their first, longed-for child, and helium decided that what helium truly wanted was to propulsion himself into fatherhood. “I benignant of made that conscious decision, arsenic soon arsenic she fell pregnant, that I'm going to enactment everything other connected hold,” helium says now. “And it was really proposal from idiosyncratic truly adjacent to me, who said that careers travel and go, but clip doesn't.”

Lyra, described arsenic a “miracle baby” by Janette arsenic she was astir to statesman IVF aft years of trying to conceive, is present 16 months old. “I got to make this beauteous enslaved with my small girl,” Aljaz explains. “I consciousness that it was the champion determination I ever made, and the 2nd champion was coming backmost to Strictly.”

Arriving astatine Elstree Studios this summertime helium said helium knew the infinitesimal helium acceptable eyes connected 26-year-old Tasha, who is trained successful commercialized creation and ballet but not successful the Latin and ballroom featured connected the show, that their pairing was “going to beryllium brilliant”. The brace person since gone connected to go the highest scoring mates successful Strictly history, having scored 39 3 times up of the large 4-0 past Saturday, meaning they’ve topped the leaderboard 8 times implicit the 11 weeks. Not erstwhile person they recovered themselves successful the dreaded creation off.

The erstwhile Love Island star, who was calved deaf but wears a cochlear implant, says she was utterly blown distant by the 40 people for their American Smooth past weekend. “You could archer by our reactions we didn't expect it,” she laughs. “It was affectional due to the fact that we ever accidental we creation with our hearts and this 1 had an other peculiar meaning. Craig likes to make suspense arsenic well. There was a agelong pause, and erstwhile I saw the one, zero I thought, ‘Oh, my God.' To get that from Craig, it means a lot. He's a pugnacious cooky to crack.”

Judge Anton du Beke was moved to tears by their beauteous show to Lewis Capaldi’s Someone You Love, which was dedicated to babe Lyra. Aljaz says that these types of affectional responses mean acold much to him than the scores oregon adjacent the glitterball troph, which helium antecedently lifted successful 2013 with exemplary spouse Abbey Clancy. “Trophies are a beauteous thing, but it's not the crushed wherefore I dance, oregon wherefore I'm connected Strictly,” helium says. “I consciousness fortunate that I'm 1 of the 15 professionals that gets to creation with a personage and gets to thatch connected a level similar this. Getting to the final, getting the accolades, it's a spot of a bonus, but it's not what drives me. It ne'er has been. Strictly is an amusement show, and it’s astir making beauteous moments connected TV. For me, the contention has ever travel secondary to that.”

While Tasha, from Thirsk successful North Yorkshire, has received immoderate disapproval for having excessively overmuch erstwhile creation experience, they brushwood it off, arguing it’s daft due to the fact that the routines she is learning are wholly caller to her. The 26-year-old, who present lives with her semipermanent Love Island fellow Andrew Le Page successful eastbound London, made a surviving from her benignant of dancing until the pandemic. Now she is simply a steadfast favourite to scope the last but says she is afloat focused connected her occupation arsenic an influencer and has nary plans to instrumentality to creation arsenic a career. “I would emotion to transportation connected by taking classes, particularly ballroom, which is my favourite,” she says. “I conscionable emotion the mode it feels. The crushed wherefore I stopped dancing is due to the fact that of Covid. I couldn't get immoderate jobs and past I benignant of mislaid my passionateness for it. Doing Strictly has enactment the joyousness back.”

While they look similar an implicit shoo-in for the final, the brace are taking thing for granted. “I instrumentality it week by week - due to the fact that you ne'er cognize erstwhile it's going to beryllium your last,” Tasha says. “I privation to conscionable bask it for what it is and not deliberation astir the last and winning. That, to me, is not what I'm present for. I'm present to larn these dances and animate galore radical retired determination with disabilities. That's wherefore I'm doing the show.”

She herself was hugely inspired by deaf histrion Rose Ayling-Ellis, who gave her the assurance to use for Love Island aft winning the amusement alongside Giovanni Pernice successful 2021. This twelvemonth Tasha has besides loved competing alongside unsighted comedian Chris McCausland, who she describes arsenic “so comic but besides truly sweet”. “It's specified a nice, inclusive premix this year. Chris is conscionable incredible,” she adds.. “Rose truly broke down doors and I've ever looked up to her. I've got a antithetic deaf acquisition to Rose and it's truthful beauteous that we tin some stock our ain stories. For me, it's astir making each the small girls retired determination grin and conscionable person idiosyncratic to look up to, due to the fact that I ne'er had that erstwhile I was younger.”

Tasha says that sometimes proceeding the euphony utilizing her implant, which she often blings-up, tin beryllium a spot of a struggle. “Especially erstwhile we bash it with the unrecorded band,” she explained. “In tango week, I couldn't perceive the commencement of the opus due to the fact that everyone was applauding truly loudly, and I was like, ‘Have we started?’ I couldn't fig it out.”

This week she’s uncovering the stiff and flicky Argentine Tango hard to get to grips with, contempt having 2 choreographers helping them with the regular to Ex-Wives from Six, for Musicals Week. “Oh, it's precise hard. I mean, it's tough,” Tasha says. “They decidedly pushed america this week. With Six, the storyline is astir pistillate empowerment, I'm truly each for that. So it’s going to beryllium bully I think.”

As they caput backmost into the grooming room, there’s not galore who would stake against this brace not making it close to the end. Tasha is not counting chickens but she would intelligibly emotion to beryllium there. "Making it to the last would beryllium the cherry connected top, particularly with Aljaz,” she beams. “It's been specified a beautiful, magical journey. I've loved each azygous second.”

Follow Mirror Celebs on TikTok , Snapchat , Instagram , Twitter , Facebook , YouTube and Threads .