Aliona Vilani, one of the professional dancers on Strictly Come Dancing, has quit the show after 7 years.
The news comes just days after she won the competition for the second time, with The Wanted’s Jay McGuiness. She is the only professional dancer who has won the series twice.
This morning Aliona tweeted that regardless of this year’s result, she was always going to leave after this series had ended. She went on to say that this year’s series has been the best for her.
https://twitter.com/AlionaVilani/status/679125502750232576
https://twitter.com/AlionaVilani/status/679125580030328832
Aliona has been a popular dancer throughout the years. She has had her fair share of interesting partners (remember Gregg Wallace?) however she has also trained two of her partners to victory. She first won the series in 2011 with McFly’s Harry Judd before winning this year with Jay McGuiness.
Affectionately dubbed as Jaliona by their fans, the pair have been plagued by rumours of a romance throughout the series, however the pair are just great friends. Their fantastic chemistry and brilliant routines helped them to win the public’s hearts and the glitterball trophy over the weekend.
The pair were completely shell shocked after beating Eastenders’ Kellie Bright and Coronation Street’s Georgia May Foote to the title, however it was very well deserved as they had been consistently great throughout.
Aliona’s not the only professional dancer to leave Strictly this year. With Ola Jordan also quitting the series, there’ll be several new faces to get familiar with once Strictly returns next year!
We’re sad to see Aliona go, however she will be remembered for creating some incredible dance routines, most recently that world class Pulp Fiction jive with Jay which you can relive below.
Are you sad to see Aliona go? Tweet us your thoughts at @CelebMix or comment below.