BBC Strictly Come Dancing favourite pulls out of show 'at last minute'

He was a no-show on BBC Strictly Come Dancing spin-off show It Takes Two as he had to deal with "dad duties"

A BBC Strictly Come Dancing star had to skip joining his dance partner Karen Hauer on the set of It Takes Two due to "dad duties". Father of three, Paul Merson, made his presence felt through a video link, where he joked about his latest dance experience.

Janette Manrara, acknowledging his absence, said: "Paul you're on dad duties this evening. So you can't be in the studio this evening, that comes first." Paul chipped in with: "Amazing. Just to get a nice dance."

He further elaborated on the nature of the show and how it matched his initial expectations, saying: "Obviously, a BBQ, a vindaloo, and footballs are coming in, and he looks like someone who works on a ship. Yeah, it was nice to dance. I thought Karen deserved that as well, to be fair."

Reflecting on getting the full Strictly experience, Paul added: "It felt nice when I first took up the chance to come on to the show. This is what I thought it would be roughly, you know what I mean? So it was nice to get one of those dances in," reports Birmingham Live.

Discussing the immediate past performance, he remarked: "When I first took up the chance to come on the show, this is what I thought it would be, roughly." Firmly stating his enjoyment, he admitted: "It was nice to get one of those dances in."

To which, Janette responded: "You feel like you've got the whole Strictly experience with this dance under your belt now." Looking forward, Paul noted: "Yeah, but now it's back to reality again this week."

On X, a Twitter user posted: "He's quite right....They need to stop all these stupid dances they give to ex sports people. It's embarrassing and never works properly. Paul's dance was far better with the correct music and outfit." Another fan agreed, saying: "Stop with the joke dances. #ittakestwo #strictly."