Strictly’s Kai Widdrington seen with Corrie star as he ditches ballroom for ‘new office’

Kai Widdrington has been spotted with a star as his new on-stage partner, swapping the ballroom for a different stage in his latest venture.

The professional dancer was recently seen during the grand final of the One dance contest over the weekend, joining the 2024 cast for one last vibrant and joyful routine, and also performing alongside singer-songwriter Raye for a special rendition of Oscar Winning Tears.

However, following the final, Kai immediately transitioned into his next role, having previously announced he would be entering the world of panto this festive season. He is set to play Captain Hook at Liverpool’s The Auditorium, at the M&S Bank arena, in their production of Peter Pan, starring alongside former actress Kimberly Hart-Simpson as Tinkerbell.

Earlier, he shared a poster for the event, which kicks off on Tuesday (December 17), on , where he can be seen sporting a magnificent moustache, writing: “It’s panto season! Come see me us at the M&S arena Liverpool for Panto this Christmas – fun for the whole family – oh yes it is! ” This week, as he returned to rehearsals before opening night, Kai posted a picture of his script in the auditorium, stating: “My new office for the rest of 2024.”

He then re-shared a photo of himself and Kimberly, who portrays Nicky Wheatley in ITV’s , which she had captioned: “@kaiwidd Panto week,” before he added: “Here we go!!”.

Kai recently made headlines as he smashed a world record on the Strictly 2024 Pro Challenge, featured on spin-off show It Takes Two. The annual contest involves the Strictly professionals attempting to perform as many repetitions of a specific dance step in half a minute, with the winner setting a new record.

This year’s challenge saw the skilled dancers performing a Time Step from the cha-cha-cha, under the watchful eyes of judge Craig Revel Horwood and adjudicator Will Munford, who were responsible for counting and verifying each attempt.

The final results were announced by host Janette Manrara, who welcomed Kai and fellow Strictly pro Neil Jones into the studio. They were tasked with beating the previous record of 14 steps, set by Nadiya Bychkova.

After their attempts were aired, it was revealed that both male pros had managed 15 Time Steps in 30 seconds. However, one of them had a disqualification, leaving a clear winner for this year’s record.

Janette then announced that Kai had secured the top spot on the leaderboard after one of Neil’s steps was disqualified, pushing him down to second place for the third year in a row. “It feels good. I might retire early because I feel it doesn’t get much better than that,” said an elated Kai after his victory.

“I’m gutted [for all my fellow professionals]. I feel so bad, but I’m very happy. Thank you Mum and Dad, all my family. Thank you for everything.”