'Strictly Come Dancing' fans SPEECHLESS to spot former 'EastEnders' star on tonight's show

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'Strictly Come Dancing' fans were left feeling nostalgic as a former 'EastEnders' favourite made an unexpected appearance on the show.

Strictly Come Dancing logo 2021
'Strictly Come Dancing' fans were thrilled to see former 'EastEnders' star Ricky Norwood back on their screens. (Image credit: BBC)

Strictly Come Dancing fans were in for a treat tonight as former EastEnders star Ricky Norwood made a surprise appearance on the show. 

Ricky was there to support his former EastEnders co-star Nina Wadia, along with Sam Atwater and Matt Lapinskas who played characters Leon Small and Anthony Moon. 

Ricky, who is best known to soap fans as beloved Walford character, Arthur 'Fatboy' Chubb between 2010 and 2015, was spotted watching Nina in rehearsals as she practiced her Tango with dance partner Neil Jones. 

EastEnders star Ricky Norwood on Strictly Come Dancing

Ricky came to watch Nina dance, along with fellow former 'EastEnders' stars Sam and Matt.  (Image credit: BBC)

Nina and Neil were getting ready to take to the dance floor in week two of Strictly Come Dancing 2021, but with their dance being so different from last week's Samba, Nina had invited her friends long to give their opinion on how they were getting on.

But Nina needn't have worried, because not only did Ricky love watching the dance in rehearsals, but the performance went smoothly on the live show, too. 

EastEnders star Ricky Norwood on Strictly Come Dancing

Fans couldn't get enough of seeing Ricky - AKA Fatboy - back on their screens.  (Image credit: BBC)

Sadly the judges didn't mark the dance highly and after their score from last week was added to this week's, Nina and Neil found themselves at the bottom of the leaderboard.

However, fans were thrilled to see Ricky on their screens again, taking to social media to share how much they missed the character on Fatboy being on their screens...

Tonight's Strictly Come Dancing saw AJ and Kai joint first place on the leaderboard along with John and Johannes after their high score from last week was added to this weeks. 

At the other end of the leaderboard, along with Nina and Neil, were Ugo and Oti, and Katie and Gorka. 

Tomorrow night will see the first couple voted out of the competition for 2021 as the first Sunday night results show airs. But have Nina and Neil done enough to stay in the competition?  

The Strictly Come Dancing results show airs Sunday night at 7.05pm on BBC1. 

Claire Crick
Claire Crick
Assistant Managing Editor at What To Watch

Claire is Assistant Managing Editor at What To Watch and has been a journalist for over 15 years, writing about everything from soaps and TV to beauty, entertainment, and even the Royal Family. After starting her career at a soap magazine, she ended up staying for 13 years, and over that time she’s pulled pints in the Rovers Return, sung karaoke in the Emmerdale village hall, taken a stroll around Albert Square, and visited Summer Bay Surf Club in sunny Australia. 

After learning some tricks of the trade at websites Digital Spy, Entertainment Daily, and Woman & Home, Claire landed a role at What’s On TV and whattowatch.com writing about all things TV and film, with a particular love for Aussie soaps, Strictly Come Dancing and Bake Off. 

She’s interviewed everyone from June Brown — AKA Dot Cotton — to Michelle Keegan, swapped cooking tips with baking legend Mary Berry backstage at the NTAs, and danced the night away with soap stars at countless awards bashes. There’s not a lot she doesn’t know about soaps and TV and can be very handy when a soapy question comes up in a pub quiz! 

As well as all things soap-related, Claire also loves running, spa breaks, days out with her kids, and getting lost in a good book.