Strictly's Nadiya Bychkova breaks huge record for second time

Strictly Come Dancing professional dancer Nadiya Bychkova has rounded off a successful year on the BBC show by scoring herself a second Guinness World Record.

Strictly: It Takes Two has unveiled Nadiya as the winner of the Pro Challenge for the second year in a row, after the dancer managed to complete 38 pat-a-cake dance steps within 30 seconds – more than any of the other professional dancers on the show.

Not only was Nadiya crowned the Pro Challenge champion once again, her impressive number of steps also earned her another Guinness World Record.

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Nadiya's fellow pro Dianne Buswell came a very close second in the contest, which has played out on It Takes Two across the past few weeks, having managed 37 pat-a-cake steps.

Katya Jones came in third place with 35 complete steps, while Amy Dowden, Oti Mabuse and new pro Jowita Przystal all scored 34.

After picking up her new Guinness World Record certificate, Nadiya said: "Wow I can't believe it! I'm a double world champion but I never thought I could be a double world record holder!"

Nadiya's win comes after she also came out on top in the 2020 Pro Challenge, which saw her earn her first Guinness World Record for the most Fleckerls completed in 30 seconds – 25 Fleckerls.

oti mabuse, nadiya bychkova, dianne buswell, karen clifton and katya jones, strictly come dancing professionals

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Nadiya and her celebrity dance partner Dan Walker were eliminated from the competition in last weekend's quarter-final, with Dan praising his partner following their exit.

"This amazing woman grabbed me by the hand and brought me out onto this dance floor," he said. "I'm not a dancer, but she showed me that I can dance and that for me, this has been an absolutely incredible experience."

Dan recently spoke out against rumours that he and Nadiya have become victims of the 'Strictly Curse', saying that talk of a romance apparently sparked by a photo of him and Nadiya hugging backstage were "disappointing".

"There was only one person I was allowed to touch in the entire production that night and that was my partner," he said of the quarter-final. "I needed somebody to give a hug to, and that was literally it. Nadiya was great. She said nice things, and I felt a lot better. We all need that sometimes. The rumours about us were... disappointing."

Strictly Come Dancing 2021 airs on Saturday nights on BBC One, with results shows every Sunday. Strictly: It Takes Two airs on weeknights at 6.30pm on BBC Two.