Just days before his debut on Celebrity Big Brother this evening, Nikita Kuzmin left fans heartbroken as he bid goodbye to his BBC co-stars - sparking fears he could be leaving the dancing show after three years.
The Ukrainian-born danncer, 26, first starred on Strictly back in 2021, during which time he was paired with Tilly Ramsay. He went on to partner with paralympic champion Ellie Simmonds and most recently with Layton Williams, which saw him become a finalist for the first time as they wowed with all of their incredible and powerful performances.
Alongside fellow professionals Dianne Buswell, Katya Jones, Neil Jones and Karen Hauer and a number of celebrities including Layton, Nikita had been taking part in this year's Strictly tour. But all good things come to an end and Nikita went on to share photos of his favourite moments, writing: "Missing all of these lovely people and happy moments. Last tour pics btw :(."
Yet the post sparked panic with fans as they flocked to the comments, with one writing: "is it true you could be quitting strictly to do CBB? Please can you just do both, don’t quit anything." While another commented: "@nikita__kuzmin miss getting all the updates/seeing your amazing talents shine and generally just seeing all the fun antics you's all got up to. Can't wait to see you on the Pro tour, along with @vitocoppola @grazianodiprima @jowitaprzystal. But might have the pleasure of being able to watch you on tv sooner, but please don't let it be at the detriment of seeing you on Strictly in the long term." A third wrote: "Most beautiful people. So many people missing you guys. Thanks for posting. And if rumours are true we’ll be with you all the way."
Strictly are yet to confirm their professional line-up, but usually do so over the coming months. Considering Nikita's success on the show and his popularity, it's unlikely that BBC bosses will be keen to ditch him.
Earlier this evening, Celebrity Big Brother appeared to hint that there were more stars set to join the show, with a behind-the-scenes photo of the ITV set showing the programme's storeroom with 16 lockers - which could mean one for each celeb.
The photo, which was obtained by The Sun, shows 16 green medical lockers, each with a white cross on the front and a lock. The paper says that the celebrities will have one each and can use it to get their own essential supplies like medicine and supplements. With 16 lockers in the Celebrity Big Brother house, this can only mean that there are five more celebrities to join the show - one rumoured to be Sharon Osbourne.
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