Strictly legend’s already had ‘most special moment of my life’ filming 2024 series

Strictly Come Dancing fan favourite Aljaž Škorjanec is waltzing his way back onto the dancefloor in the upcoming series, three years after bidding farewell to the beloved BBC show.

And the Strictly veteran – who lifted the glitterball trophy with Abbey Clancy in 2013 – has already had a few tearful moments as the launch of the 20th series creeps closer.

Aljaž, 34, last appeared on Strictly viewers’ screens in 2021 when he was paired with Dragons’ Den star Sara Davies.

Since then, he and wife Janette Manrara, 40 – a former Strictly pro who now hosts It Takes Two – have welcomed their first child together, 13-month-old Lyra, who, despite barely being able to walk, is somewhat of a Tiny Dancer herself.

In a new interview with , Aljaž shared an insight into training for this year’s show and revealed one moment that had him weeping.

‘It is very, very special,’ Aljaž began as he mused over his comeback. ‘A bit emotional, really, to get back into the ballroom and be amongst all those beautiful people who create the show.

‘It’s a massive team of producers, people behind the scenes, in front of the camera, and it did really feel like home.’

Having just finished pre-recording all the group numbers with his fellow professionals, Aljaž had a real ‘full-circle’ moment when his two favourite people watched on from the audience, eager to applaud.

‘We were recording a number and Janette and Lyra were both in the studio watching it. That was one of the most special moments of my life so far, seeing them both there and enjoying watching me being on the dancefloor.

‘That was the whole reason for coming back. I did nine years for myself and for us, and now I get to do it for my beautiful little missus, and my actual missus – also little! It’s a very, very special feeling.’

The Slovenian choreographer went on to say that rejoining the Strictly family wasn’t high on his list of priorities until this year.

‘I’ll be honest, the two years that I wasn’t part of it, I was a massive fan, I watched most weekends, mainly with Lyra from home, and [returning] wasn’t at the top of my plans, ever, but once the conversation started, I did the good old pros and cons thing.

‘There were way too many pros compared to cons. It was a no-brainer decision. Strictly has been such a massive part of my life, it changed my life completely, and I feel like there was nothing telling me not to go back and do it again.’

Aljaž declared that he’s incredibly ‘blessed’ and ‘lucky’ to have been welcomed back with open arms by bosses, considering Strictly has never seen a professional return before, hence he’s keen to ‘make the most of it’.

‘Stepping away from it for a couple of years puts things into perspective,’ he noted, describing being back in the training room as ‘so fulfilling’.

Chiming in with her thoughts on Aljaž’s return, wife Janette – whom he married in 2017 – admitted to needing tissues herself, having sobbed watching her other half’s rehearsal footage.

‘I can’t tell you how excited I am, personally, as Aljaž’s wife, to have him back on the show, to get to watch him dancing again, and to watch him with Lyra,’ she beamed.

‘I will be crying! He sends me videos of the group numbers and I’m like, “It’s beautiful, you look great!”,’ Janette joked, feining hysterical sobs.

However, the upcoming 20th series won’t be without hardship, as Janette and Aljaž have had to meticulously fine-tune a schedule that allows for family time amid the chaos.

Confessing that she currently feels like ‘a single working mum’ as she only gets ‘doses’ of Aljaž, Janette acknowledged that Strictly is ‘gruesome’.

Despite it being ‘tough’, the new parents, who reside in Cheshire, are determined to manage, with Janette visiting London weekly and planning activities for Sunday, the cast’s day off.

‘It’s just making sure that Lyra’s well-being is number one, she doesn’t feel uncomfortable or exhausted or is travelling too much. It’s about spending as much time together as we possibly can, as a family… but it is tough.’

Cuban-American star Janette and Aljaž, whose past Strictly partners include Alison Hammond and Daisy Lowe, spoke to us as they also juggle a new campaign, having teamed up with Tails.com to help celebrate our furry friends during mealtime.

Together, they created the nation’s first doggie jive dance video, which stemmed from Tails.com’s findings that over half of dogs have done a unique dance around dinner time before.

Speaking about their involvement, Aljaž and Janette said it was easy to draw inspiration from the four-legged pals for their tail-wagging jive.

‘They’re so hyper when it comes to dinner time and they get so excitable, so jive felt like the right style,’ said Janette. ‘They’re on their toes, their paws are going crazy, they’re spinning in circles, their tales are wagging… so there are moments where we do turns, we do jumps, we do lots of flicks and kicks, and all of that came from the dogs.’

‘As dancers, it was a nice challenge because you always get inspired by different things when you dance, but when we got the briefing we were like, well, this is cool!’, she said with a smile.

Janette will return to host BBC Two’s It Takes Two, alongside Fleur East, after the Strictly launch show airs next weekend.

With a cast comprising Sarah Hadland, JB Gill, Pete Wicks, Tasha Ghouri, Tom Dean, Jamie Borthwick, Nick Knowles, Sam Quek, and Shayne Ward, the upcoming series is bound to be a hoot.

Not only do we have a promising line-up to entertain us with salsas, sambas, Charlestons, and cha chas every week, but as Strictly marks two decades on air, Aljaž wants superfans to know they’re invited to join the party.

‘Strictly has been a staple of British TV for 20 years now and it’s one of the only and last shows that has this live note to it, and it’s so successful.

‘You can expect another season of forgetting about the world for a couple of hours and just enjoying the glitz and glam. I think it’s everything people in the UK always want to lead them up to Christmas. It’s like every other year, but slightly better!’