Strictly is again! twentieth collection brings out the sequins

Strictly returned for its 20th series on Saturday as it shrugged off the bullying scandal with Nick Knowles and Luba Mushtuk kicking off the show. 

The BBC dancing show has been through a tough year after numerous previous contestants alleged abuse by professional dancers. 

But for its first live show of the season, the sequins were back and the crowd were enthusiastic for Nick and Luba’s builder-themed opener. 

Surprisingly, one star spotted in the audience was Zara McDermott – who was at the heart of the scandal when footage emerged of Graziano Di Prima ‘kicking her’ in rehearsals – as she turned up for the show to support her pal Pete Wicks. 

Nick stayed to his roots for his Jive to We Built This City sporting a sparkly orange reflective vest – before ending it with a disco ball-esque builders hard hat.  

‘You’re as delighted as I am that that came off the way it did, aren’t you?’ Anton said to Nick after the dance ended.  

However Craig received boos as he called the performance ‘pigeon-toed, stiff and flat footed’. 

For his debut performance, Nick received a three from Craig, and fives from Motsi, Shirley and Anton.

Nick was left red faced as the cast sang him Happy Birthday and presented him with a cake – before professional dancer Carlos smooshed the cake in his face. 

The DIY SOS star shared his worries about performing live but insisted he hopes he does better than people expect. 

‘That’s easy,’ Luba replied as she reassured her partner. Nick said: ‘Well then I’ll be very happy.’ 

Next up was hockey player Sam Quek with her partner Nikita Kuzmin as the pair took on the foxtrot. 

Sam suffered a slight mishap as she lost her balance but while Craig called the performance ‘a bit lumpy’ he shared his excitement for what’s to come. The pair received three sixes and a five from Anton.

‘I think there’s a lot to look forward to,’ Craig added. 

Shane Ward and Nancy Xu were next to take to the floor with their Samba to Do I Do by Stevie Wonder. The pair received a four from Craig, five from Shirley and sixes from Motsi and Anton.

‘Some lovely chemistry moments,’ Shirley said after their dance – following Shane’s admission that he and Nancy clicked straight away. 

Stunning in blue and gold sequined gown, Toyah Wilcox and Neil Jones took the floor next with a Tango to Ray Of Light by Madonna

All fifteen celebrities and their pro partners will take to the dancefloor for the first live show following last weekend’s dazzling launch, where the pairings were first revealed. 

But while the launch show was pre-recorded, this week, there was no room for errors as every step, spin and sashay was closely scrutinised by judges Shirley Ballas, Craig Revel Horwood, Motsi Mabuse and Anton Du Beke.

As ever, hosts Tess Daly and Claudia Winkleman were on hand to welcome, congratulate and console the latest batch of nervous dancers as they stepped onto the floor to not only impress the judges, but the viewers at home.

Viewers were in for a treat as the first live show kicked off, with a variety of dances including Cha Chas, Viennese Waltz’s, Sambas and even a Paso Doble lined up for their viewing pleasure.

It’s a big year for Strictly as it celebrates it’s 20th year, while pro dancer Amy Dowden made her much-awaited return to the show following her heartbreaking cancer battle.

However, the positive news has been tainted by a year of controversy as the BBC show was embroiled in a number of scandals.

It all began last October when actress Amanda Abbington unexpectedly quit the show before claiming that her partner Giovanni Pernice was abusive towards her.

The Sherlock actress has made a series of accusations about Giovanni’s teaching methods and has described his behaviour as ‘unnecessary, abusive, cruel and mean’. He strongly denies all of the claims. 

Giovanni, 33, was suspended while a BBC probe is underway over allegations made by Amanda and two other former celebrity partners. 

He has vehemently denied the claims. 

With the report into his misconduct due any day now, Amanda has reportedly been left deeply disappointed with the BBC bosses over fears they’re ‘protecting’ the dancer amid the bullying probe.

There have been high-level meetings among BBC bosses as they navigate how to deliver their findings as they fear the looming possibility of legal action from either Amanda or Giovanni if either is disappointed by the outcome. 

After Giovanni, the show was hit with a fresh wave of scandal when Graziano Di Prima was sacked  in July for ‘kicking’ his partner Love Island star Zara McDermott.

Zara explained that she didn’t report the incidents at the time as she was ‘scared’ of backlash. 

Instead it was junior production staff who came forward to share what they had witnessed as the investigation into pro dancer Giovanni was taking place.

Zara told her followers that while much of her time on Strictly ‘was everything I could have dreamt of’ inside the training room with Graziano there were ‘particular incidents which are incredibly distressing’.

However despite this, Zara and boyfriend Sam turned out for the live show and looked happier than ever as they posed for photos wearing matching T-shirts with TOWIE star Pete’s face printed on the front. 

The couple also rocked coordinated blue denim jeans with a number of pictures of Pete and large black letters reading, ‘Vote Pete Wicks’ written down the leg. 

Over the summer Strictly has struggled to stay out the headlines as more and more alumni of the show have come forward to share their stories. 

Steve Backshall complained to the BBC about his professional partner on Strictly Come Dancing Ola Jordan back in 2014 claiming she ‘bullied’ him.

Meanwhile Ola’s husband James was left furious when he hit back after unearthed footage emerged of him telling his partner Georgina Bouzova he would ‘drag her across the floor and scream at her’ if she forgot her moves. 

The ballroom dancer and choreographer, 46, slammed the BBC after the clip began doing the rounds again following the recent Giovanni and Graziano scandals – saying most of the footage ‘was not related to Georgina at all’.

Professional dancer Nadiya Bychkova also met with BBC bosses to complain about the show in July. 

Amid the tough year for the show, hosts Tess and Claudia failed to mention the scandals as they welcomed viewers to last week’s launch show.