Couple 5

Mark

Hi everyone my name is Mark Alcorn and I have the pleasure of dancing with the lovely Kelly. I am not Kelly’s original dance partner but when I was asked to help out I jumped at the chance! I am a massive Strictly fan and I couldn’t pass up the chance to take part and what better way to help support a fantastic charity than putting on the old dancing shoes and doing something that I love. In my usual day to day I work in finance so doing Strictly is way outside my comfort zone but to say I’ve enjoyed it is an understatement. In my head when I’m on the dance floor I like to think I’m Fred Astaire gliding across the dance floor with grace and ease,  but I’ll let you be the judge of that. On that note I hope you enjoy our dancing as much as we have enjoyed it and help us to rise some money for this amazing charity. 

Kelly

Hi I'm Kelly Skillen. Originally it was meant to be my mum, Brenda, gracing you all with her presence but since she had to pull out, I’ll have to do instead! When she asked if I would take her place, I was excited and a little bit hesitant – I love dancing but Strictly is just a touch different than dancing at the office Christmas party. For one, there’s a lot more 'no, the other left foot!'. But I couldn’t pass up the opportunity to raise money for such an amazing charity while living out my Strictly dreams, so here I am. In my day-to-day, I’m a data analyst for an insurtech company, OpenData Belfast, and before that, I was an astrophysicist, (and not an astronaut as my nanny likes to tell everyone). I’ve also done musical theatre but that’s a bit less ‘cha-cha’ and a bit more ‘sing while looking dreamily across the stage at an imaginary man’ than the name would suggest. I’ve loved every bit of being a part of Strictly this year – the only way it could get better is if we manage to raise loads for Via Wings and do some good!