Olympic champion Pendleton gears up for flying bike on Strictly special

Published on 16/11/2012 02:20

Victoria Pendleton is getting back in the saddle by riding a flying bike for her routine on this weekend’s Strictly Come Dancing.

The retired Olympic gold medal-winning cyclist will arrive on the dance floor pedalling a BMX suspended by wires when the programme comes from Wembley Arena on Saturday.

To complete the look from her Team GB days she will be wearing a red, white and blue outfit as she performs in front of a live audience of 6,000 fans on the BBC1 show.

She and professional partner Brendan Cole are due to perform a paso doble to the Queen hit Bicycle Race.

Her arrival is expected to be reminiscent of the flying bike scene in movie hit ET - The Extra Terrestrial.

The show’s “dancing through the decades” theme will also see Pendleton’s fellow Olympian Louis Smith return to his sport by including some gymnastics in his routine. The silver medallist has already performed the splits, a one-armed handstand and a flip during his time on the show.

Last year, the Wembley show saw contestant Russell Grant fired from a cannon, and judge Craig Revel Horwood flew through the air as he mimicked Queen guitarist Brian May.

A show insider said producers were pulling out all the stops to make this year’s event even more spectacular. Performers include Kylie Minogue, who will sing her 1980s hit The Locomotion, and Girls Aloud – featuring contestant Kimberley Walsh – who will perform their Children In Need single Something New.