Entertainment

Soap stars swap scripts for sambas on Strictly Come Dancing

Will Davood Ghadami reach the heights of Jill Halfpenny and Kara Tointon to win the glitterball trophy?
Will Davood Ghadami reach the heights of Jill Halfpenny and Kara Tointon to win the glitterball trophy? Will Davood Ghadami reach the heights of Jill Halfpenny and Kara Tointon to win the glitterball trophy?

EastEnders star Davood Ghadami is the latest soap actor hoping he can learn his moves as quickly as he learns his lines as he aims for glitterball glory on Strictly Come Dancing.

Here are some of the other soap stars who have taken a turn around the Strictly dancefloor:

Danny Mac

Strictly Come Dancing Live Tour Launch – Birmingham
Strictly Come Dancing Live Tour Launch – Birmingham
Danny Mac and partner Oti Mabuse (Joe Giddens/PA)

Mac charmed Hollyoaks viewers as wheeler-dealer Dodger Savage, but won legions of new fans when he came second in the 2016 series of Strictly with partner Oti Mabuse, losing out to Ore Oduba and Joanne Clifton.

Kara Tointon

Diamond Jubilee preparations
Diamond Jubilee preparations
Kara Tointon and Artem Chigvintsev (BBC)

Tointon, who played Dawn Swann in EastEnders, danced to victory in the Strictly ballroom in 2010. She also struck up a romance with her dance partner Artem Chigvintsev, before they split in 2014.

Jake Wood

Strictly Come Dancing Live Tour Photocall – Birmingham
Strictly Come Dancing Live Tour Photocall – Birmingham
Jake Wood with partner Janette Manrara (Joe Giddens/PA)

Another EastEnders star – Wood was best known for playing Max Branning – made it all the way to the semi-finals in 2014, where he started his routine in a replica of the Queen Vic pub. But the nod to Walford was not enough to land Wood a place in the final, which was won by Caroline Flack that year.

Georgia May Foote

Strictly Come Dancing Live Tour Photocall – Birmingham
Strictly Come Dancing Live Tour Photocall – Birmingham
Georgia May Foote with partner Giovanni Pernice (Joe Giddens/PA)

Foote, best known for playing Katy Armstrong in Coronation Street, was a runner-up in 2015, and also had a relationship with dance partner Giovanni Pernice.

Kellie Bright

Strictly Come Dancing 2015
Strictly Come Dancing 2015
Kellie Bright and partner Kevin Clifton (BBC)

EastEnders star Kellie Bright was best known for playing Linda Carter in Walford before she twerked her way to a standing ovation in the 2015 series, before losing out to The Wanted’s Jay McGuiness.

Scott Maslen

Strictly Come Dancing
Strictly Come Dancing
Scott Maslen and partner Natalie Lowe (BBC)

Maslen found fame as Jack Branning on EastEnders before dazzling viewers in 2010 with his Viennese waltz and jive. He was eventually sent packing alongside rugby star Gavin Henson in a double elimination in the semi-finals.

Tina O’Brien

Strictly Come Dancing The Live Tour dress rehearsal – Nottingham
Strictly Come Dancing The Live Tour dress rehearsal – Nottingham
Tina O’Brien and partner Jared Murillo (PA)

Coronation Street star O’Brien has played Sarah Platt on and off since 1999 and in 2010 she became the fourth star to get the boot from Strictly after her Argentine tango failed to impress.

Jill Halfpenny

Strictly Come Dancing final
Strictly Come Dancing final
Jill Halfpenny and partner Darren Bennett (PA)

Soap star Halfpenny, who played Rebecca Hopkins in Coronation Street, Kate Mitchell in rival soap EastEnders and Izzie Redpath in Waterloo Road, won the second series of Strictly in 2004 and her jive is still regarded as one of the best in the show’s history.

The new series of Strictly Come Dancing is expected to start this autumn.