Dani Dyer is supported by her dad Danny at the first Strictly live show as he poses in hilarious snap with her pro partner Nikita Kuzmin

Dani Dyer was supported by her dad Danny at the first Strictly live show on Saturday night – as he posed in a hilarious snap with her pro partner Nikita Kuzmin.

The Love Islander, 30, was meant to compete in last year’s series but had to pull out before it began due to an injury.

But this year she was ready to go as she hit the dancefloor with Nikita, 28, for a Samba to Zara Larsson’s hit Lush Life. They scored an impressive 22 points.

After the show Dani took to Instagram to share a series of backstage snaps as she penned in the caption: ‘No words for last night!’

In one snap she posed with EastEnders star Danny, 49, as Nikita cheekily put his hand on his chest and kicked his leg up.

Danny looked delighted to be at the studios and looked as cool as ever in shades and an all-black outfit. 

They were joined by Nikita’s stunning girlfriend Lauren Jaine in another snap from the Instagram album. 

Things got off to a shaky start on Saturday night with new presenting team Josh Widdicombe, Emma Willis and Johannes Radebe taking the reins as viewers weren’t convinced by the set up.

No doubt with a lot on her mind, Emma joked she was feeling ‘nervous’ about the live aspect of the show before introducing the judges and contestants to the stage.

And after it was revealed Josh and Emma would present together on the dance floor Josh was branded a ‘spare part’ by some.

He did, however, earn some praise for making a ‘change partners’ joke, in a playful throwback to the new musical chairs-style format used to announce the pairs in the launch show. 

As Josh stood on the dancefloor looking bemused Emma, Johannes and judge Craig appeared alongside him, while Josh wailed ‘change partners’, leaving viewers in hysterics. 

Many reacted to the new trio on X as they penned: ‘I’m not going to be one of the people hating on Josh. For me the problem is that three hosts just aren’t needed. He’s just standing there awkwardly next to Emma without much to do. Josh should’ve been up where Johannes is and Johannes should be dancing imo.’,

‘ngl, i’m not a fan of this hosts setup. I’d switch jojo and josh around, why book a comedian and not put him causing chaos and fun in the clauditorium (or whatever we call it these days) #Strictly.’,

‘Ok. I still don’t feel it. It might have fared better if it was just Josh upstairs and Emma on her own. I feel that dynamic would’ve had more flow. What’s everyone else thinking??.’,

‘Everyone is being quite hard on Josh but he’s really not the problem. He should be up in the Clauditorium to crack jokes with the contestants. Emma is fantastic and such a natural so she should be on her own on the main floor. Three hosts are too much.’

No one will be leaving the show this week, with the scores from week one combined with next week’s before the first elimination next Sunday. 

Up first to perform was Big Brother presenter Will Best, 41, who performed the Samba to Rock DJ by Robbie Williams with his partner Dianne Buswell. 

While there was rapturous applause from the audience, Craig Revel Horwood was quick to point out Will’s ‘sloppy’ arms, and awarded him four points, the same as Shirley Ballas. 

Motsi Mabuse and Anton Du Beke awarded Will scores of five, giving him a total score of 18. 

Then it was time for British skeleton racer Tabby Stoecker, 25, to jive to Animal by KATSEYE with new pro Mark Karmalita. 

She particularly impressed Anton, who said it was like seeing last year’s winner Karen Carney back on the dancefloor. He awarded her a score of seven. In turn, Motsi gave six, and Shirley five for a very respectable first week score of 22. 

Paralympian Dame Sarah Storey, 48, was paired with Julian Caillon and they took on the Quickstep to C’est Magnifique by Kay Starr. 

After a few mistakes in her routine, Dame Storey was awarded a three by Craig and fours by the remaining judges, giving her a final score of 15. 

Emmerdale’s Lawrence Robb, 34, and Jowita Przystał performed the Paso Doble to Aperture by Harry Styles, earning him a four from Craig, fives from Motsi and Shirley and a six from Anton, totalling 20. 

Former footballer Shaun Wright-Phillips, 44, stepped up to perform the Cha Cha to Lil Boo Thang by Paul Russell, with his partner Alexis Warr. 

He failed to impress, earning a two from Craig, fours from Motsi and Shirley and five from Anton for 15 overall. 

House Of The Dragon actress and West End star Bethany Antonia, 28, performed a Quickstep to Stop This Flame by Celeste. 

She was paired with Nancy Xu, having requested a female dance partner after Nicola Adams and Katya Jones’s coupling in 2020 helped with her coming out journey.

The move paid off, with the pair’s dance branded the best of the night so far and earning them a score of 26 – consisting of sixes from Craig and Shirley and sevens from Anton and Motsi. 

However, they didn’t stay top of the leaderboard for long.

EastEnders actress Lacey Turner, 38, performed a Cha Cha to How Will I Know by Whitney Houston alongside fan favourite Vito Coppola, earning a standing ovation from Shirley. 

The routine earned them 27 – with sevens from Craig, Shirley and Anton and six from Motsi.

Celebrity hairstylist Chris Appleton, 43, teamed up with show veteran and fan favourite Amy Dowden to Tango to No Roots by Alice Merton. 

They scored 16 – made up of three from Craig, four from Motsi and Shirley and five from Anton.

The oldest celebrity in the new series, Gavin & Stacey star Melanie Walters, 64, took on the Cha Cha to Don’t Go Breaking My Heart by Elton John and Kiki Dee.

Paired with long-time pro Aljaž Škorjanec, she scored a total of 15 – including two from Craig, fours from Motsi and Shirley and five from Anton.

Love Island star Cach Mercer, 25, performed a Quickstep to I Just Might by Bruno Mars with new pro dancer Maddie Ingoldsby. 

The pair were criticised for adding too much freestyle to the ballroom routine but still scored a respectable 20 – three from Craig, sixes from Motsi and Anton and five from Shirley. 

Dog trainer Graeme Hall, 59, was a dark horse on the night as he showed off his skills doing the Cha Cha to Hound Dog (Smokey Joe’s Café version) with his partner Lauren Oakley. 

Craig, Motsi, Shirley and Anton all awarded him six points for a total of 24. 

The stakes were high for actress Jaime Winstone, 41, who was paired with reigning champion Carlos Gu for her Tango to I Feel Love by Donna Summer. 

Yet she proved she could hold her own, and while there were some criticisms for not including enough ballroom moves, she still scored 21 – fives from Craig, Motsi and Shirley and six from Anton. 

A year later than she’d hoped, Dani finally made it onto the dancefloor, reuniting with her dance partner Nikita after an ankle injury forced her to withdraw before the live shows last year.

The pair’s first dance was a Samba to Lush Life by Zara, and it was worth the wait, with Dani earning sixes from Craig and Anton and fives from Motsi and Shirley for a score of 22. 

They were cheered on by Dani’s famous father Danny – who sat proudly in the front row of the audience. 

Sports YouTuber John, 33, and Katya then had their dance labelled the ‘best’ of the night – earning scores of eights from Shirley, Motsi and Anton and a seven from Craig to send them rocketing to the top of the leaderboard. 

Australian singer and actress Delta Goodrem, 41, rounded off the show by performing the Samba to Baianá by Barbatuques with her partner Kai Widdrington.

They scored 29 after eight from Motsi and sevens from Craig, Shirley and Anton.

The live show allowed viewers to warm to the celebrity contestants, after the lineup was previously branded ‘the worst ever’.

The celeb lineup was announced on social media this year rather than on radio and TV, but many followers had never heard of the names.

John, for example, a ‘sports content creator’, doesn’t even have a Wikipedia page.

But that doesn’t seem to matter to producers, who are said to have specifically selected stars who have large social media followings, rather than being known to the average Joe.

In recent years, BBC bosses have started to introduce content creators, reality stars and online influencers to the lineup in a bid to attract Gen Z viewers.

It’s a move that paid off, with YouTuber Joe Sugg, Made In Chelsea’s Jamie Laing and Love Island’s Tasha Ghouri for example, all proving popular with fans and reaching the final.

Yet this year, that idea was put into overdrive, with an insider claiming the series has actively targeted stars with a big social presence to attract younger viewers.

Stars such as Kim Kardashian’s hair stylist Chris might not be a household name, but he does boast a huge social media following with four million fans on Instagram.

Sports YouTuber John has an even bigger fanbase, with 15.7 million YouTube subscribers.

However, loyal fans were left scratching their heads over the lineup, with many of the comments on the Strictly social posts asking who the celebrity is, rather than expressing any excitement.

Indeed, while bosses may be keen to attract Gen Z – the majority of Strictly viewers are in fact Gen X and Baby Boomers.

Audience demographic data indicates that around 60 per cent of the audience is aged 55 or older, putting the average viewer age firmly in the mid-50s and above.

Yet this year, it’s been suggested Strictly is following a similar, hugely successful social media strategy employed by its US counterpart Dancing With The Stars.