Hollyoaks stars revealed for Let's Dance
Ricky Whittle and Chris Fountain head up the Hollyoaks stars set to dust off their dancing shoes for Comic Relief's celebrity talent competition, Let's Dance. Ricky and Chris, who play heartthrobs Calvin Valentine and Justin Burton in the soap, will be joined by Loui Batley (Sarah Barnes), Nathalie Emmanuel (Sasha Valentine), Dominique Jackson (Lauren Valentine) and Garnon Davies (Elliot Bevan) for the show as part of this year's Red Nose Day campaign. The Hollyoaks stars will appear compete against Jo Brand, the Dragons Den judges, Blue Peter presenters, Keith Lemon and Paddy McGuinness, Neil Fox and Nancy Sorrell in the second heat on Saturday 28 February. Judging the soap hopefuls will be guest judge Denise Van Outen alongside head panellist Anton Du Beke. Each week they will be joined by two different guest panellists including Emma Bunton, Paul O'Grady and comedian Michael McIntyre. Hosted by Claudia Winkleman and Steve Jones, the series will run over four weeks, comprising three heats and culminating in a spectacular final dance off on the Saturday of Red Nose Day weekend, March 14. The first show, due to air on Saturday 21 February on BBC One, will see members of the EastEnders cast, Les Dennis, Christopher Biggins, Nicky Chapman, Robert Webb, Dick & Dom and 10 well known chefs recreate a number of famous dances from movie and pop classics. The winners of each heat will be chosen by the public and the judging panel and will go on to compete in the final on March 14. Click here to watch whatsontv.co.uk's new weekly soaps video preview, the Soap Scoop Get all the latest soap gossip delivered straight to your door. Subscribe to Soaplife magazine today
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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.