Victoria turns goth for Strictly Halloween
Victoria Pendleton is to play a corpse bride in this weekend's Halloween-themed edition of Strictly Come Dancing just months before she's due to tie the knot herself. The Olympic cyclist is to play a glamorous, gothic character as she and Brendan Cole dance a tango to Billy Idol's White Wedding on Saturday. And Anton Du Beke is to make a comeback just days after being given the boot from the show to play the vicar who officiates at the ceremony. Olympic golden girl Victoria is planning her own wedding to fiance Scott Gardner next summer. The stars are each planning spooky performances as they prepare for the traditional Halloween edition of the BBC One dance contest. Gymnast Louis Smith and partner Flavia Cacace are to play a pair of zombies as they run though a tango to Rihanna's Disturbia. Sid Owen is to dress as a Ghostbuster, along with partner Ola Jordan, as they dance to the Ray Parker Jr theme from the hit 1980s film. Ola was expected back at rehearsals on Thursday after taking a break and heading back to her native Poland to visit her mother, who's recovering from a heart attack. Sid has been dancing with Iveta Lukosiute while she has been out of the country. Former Westlife star Nicky Byrne and partner Karen Hauer will be dancing to the theme from Weird Science, recorded by Oingo Boingo.
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Patrick McLennan is a London-based journalist and documentary maker who has worked as a writer, sub-editor, digital editor and TV producer in the UK and New Zealand. His CV includes spells as a news producer at the BBC and TVNZ, as well as web editor for Time Inc UK. He has produced TV news and entertainment features on personalities as diverse as Nick Cave, Tom Hardy, Clive James, Jodie Marsh and Kevin Bacon and he co-produced and directed The Ponds, which has screened in UK cinemas, BBC Four and is currently available on Netflix.
An entertainment writer with a diverse taste in TV and film, he lists Seinfeld, The Sopranos, The Chase, The Thick of It and Detectorists among his favourite shows, but steers well clear of most sci-fi.