{"id":8242,"date":"2021-12-05T10:54:16","date_gmt":"2021-12-05T09:54:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.radiotimes.com\/?p=1532421"},"modified":"2021-12-05T11:07:09","modified_gmt":"2021-12-05T10:07:09","slug":"aj-pritchard-backs-rose-ayling-ellis-to-win-strictly-come-dancing-2021","status":"publish","type":"rss_feed","link":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/radiotimes\/rss_feed\/aj-pritchard-backs-rose-ayling-ellis-to-win-strictly-come-dancing-2021\/","title":{"rendered":"AJ Pritchard backs Rose Ayling-Ellis to win Strictly Come Dancing 2021"},"content":{"rendered":"

<\/p>

By David Craig\n \t\t<\/p>

Published: Sunday, 05 December 2021 at 12:00 am<\/p>

\n\n

Former Strictly Come Dancing<\/a>\u00a0professional AJ Pritchard has revealed his favourite contestant in this year\u2019s competition is EastEnders<\/a> star Rose Ayling-Ellis.<\/p>\n

The actor made history as the first deaf person to take part in the popular series and has continually wowed audiences<\/a> with a number of stunning routines \u2013 including one that bagged her a perfect 40 score.<\/a><\/p>\n

Speaking exclusively to\u00a0RadioTimes.com<\/strong>, Pritchard said that this year\u2019s edition has been \u201cfantastic\u201d and blessed with particularly high standards, but Ayling-Ellis has inched just ahead of the competition.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think right now it still has to be where my heart is with Rose,\u201d he said. \u201cI feel like she\u2019s got such a connection and when you see her on TV you kind of feel like \u2018Oh, I know Rose like a family would know Rose\u2019.<\/p>\n

Pritchard continued: \u201cShe\u2019s just so open and shows her emotions and that\u2019s really nice to see and I think some of the others are finding it hard to kind of relax and just show was who they actually are.\u201d<\/p>

Pritchard is currently starring opposite brother Curtis in a pantomime production of Cinderella, which will run performances at Wolverhampton Grand Theatre this month and in early January 2022.<\/p>\n

Curtis, who is also a professional dancer, has appeared on two seasons of Ireland\u2019s Dancing with the Stars.<\/p>\n

\""strictly-saffron-barker"\"<\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture><\/div>
AJ Pritchard and Saffron Barker (BBC)<\/span><\/figcaption><\/div>\n

Another couple from Strictly Come Dancing\u2019s 2021 line-up<\/a> that has caught Pritchard\u2019s eye for all of the right reasons is AJ Odudu and Kai Widdrington.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve loved them from day one to be fair,\u201d he explained. \u201cAnd Kai is a friend of mine, I\u2019ve danced with him all my life, so I am supporting him as well. But Giovanni and Rose, they are a warming warming watch, which is nice.\u201d<\/p>\n

Additional reporting by Lauren Morris.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

Tickets for Cinderella at Wolverhampton Grand Theatre, starring AJ and Curtis Pritchard, are available now from the venue\u2019s website<\/a>.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Strictly Come Dancing 2021 semi-finals kick-off on BBC One at 7:05pm on Saturday 11th December. Check out more of our Entertainment coverage or visit our TV Guide to see what\u2019s on tonight.\u00a0<\/strong><\/p><\/body><\/html>\n

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