Tom Fletcher to sing with Paddington during Strictly’s musicals week

McFly singer Tom Fletcher will sing with Paddington Bear on Strictly Come Dancing’s musicals week.

The BBC announced the singer, 40, and the bear from the West End production will take to the ballroom in the dancing competition’s quarter-final this weekend to perform The Explorer And The Bear from Paddington The Musical.

The former Strictly contestant, who wrote the music and lyrics for the new Paddington musical, will appear among other special guests, including the cast of the Olivier Award-winning musical parody Titanique.

Musicals week is expected to kick off with a new addition to the show on Saturday, as the remaining five contestants take part in a dance relay.

The dancers will showcase a five-minute routine, choreographed by Matt Flint, that will see reality TV star Amber Davies and her dance partner Nikita Kuzmin perform to Trip A Little Light Fantastic from the musical Mary Poppins Returns.

In relay-style, EastEnders actress Balvinder Sopal and professional dancer Julian Caillon will perform a routine to With A Little Bit Of Luck from My Fair Lady.

Social media star George Clarke and professional Alexis Warr will dance to Consider Yourself from Oliver!, and former Lioness Karen Carney and her partner Carlos Gu will dance to a song from Half A Sixpence called Flash Bang Wallop.

Former Emmerdale actor Lewis Cope and his partner Katya Jones will perform a dance to Me Ol’ Bamboo from Chitty Chitty Bang Bang.

The relay performance will feature eight additional dancers, and will start and finish with the couples dancing together.

Musicals week will also see Strictly’s professional dancers perform to Cell Block Tango from Chicago.

In last Sunday’s episode, Doctor Who star Alex Kingston and professional dancer Johannes Radebe were eliminated from the series.

Kingston’s departure came after she lost the dance-off to Sopal and Caillon.

Kingston called the experience a “journey of a lifetime”, and said she felt “so lucky” to take part in the show.

Strictly will return on Saturday at 6.50pm, followed by the results show on Sunday at 7.45pm, and will be available to watch on BBC One and BBC iPlayer.