Chris McCausland and Jamie Borthwick's little-known link before Strictly stint

Chris McCausland and Jamie Borthwick will both perform a Salsa for Strictly Come Dancing's first-ever Icons Week - but it seems the contestants have something else in common

Turns out the stars have got more in common than just their dance moves.

Comedian Chris McCausland, 47, has come a long way since his debut performance on Strictly Come Dancing, managing to score an impressive 30 points last week for his Jive to Wayne's World / Bohemian Rhapsody along with pro partner Dianne Buswell. That's a whoppping seven point increase from week one and meant he ended up ranking joint fourth on the leaderboard with several duos, including Jamie Borthwick and Michelle Tsiakkas.

Chris and Jamie, 30, have since been perfecting their routines after the show unveiled a brand new theme: Icons Week. But, did you know there is a link between the two contestants that spans way before their time in the ballroom?

According to the star's IMDB page, Jamie actually started his acting career on a popular comedy series - before landing his iconic role as Jay Brown is BBC's Eastenders. In 2006, he appeared in two episodes in the first season of the acclaimed Not Going Out - featuring Lee Mack, Sally Bretton, Katy Wix, and Hugh Dennis.

Jamie had small, uncredited roles, taking on the character of 'Agressive Boy' in the episode 'Aussie' and 'Young Chav' two episodes later in 'Kid'. The same year, he joined the soaps where he has been in more than 1,3000 EastEnders episodes, and is also credited for featuring in Gina's Laughing Gear and 'Celebrate' Oliver!.

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Known for his one-liners and stints on TV panels, Chris actually kickstarted his career in the entertainment industry by picking up a few acting gigs. While Jamie was filming Not Going Out, Chris had landed the role of Rudi in the children's show Me Too!. However, last year he also made a cameo in Not Going Out, portraying the character of Martin.

Chris' acting credits also show that he featured in one episode of Eastenders back in 2018 as the character Carl. This means Chris and Jamie could have easily had their first dance off at a lock-in at the Queen Vic...

Chris is slated to spice things up with a Salsa to Down Under by Men at Work tonight, while Jamie will be doing the same style dance to Danza Kuduro by Don Omar and Lucenzo. So, the competition really is on; let the best Not Going Out star win...

Strictly Come Dancing airs every Saturday on BBC One.

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