Norfolk dancer to partner Strictly head judge Shirley Ballas in Christmas panto

A champion ballroom and Latin dancer from Norfolk is set to join Strictly Come Dancing head judge Shirley Ballas in pantomime.

Luke Miller, 22, will be dancing with the Strictly star in the Jack and the Beanstalk pantomime at the Liverpool Empire.

Mrs Ballas will be playing Mother Nature and Mr Miller, who grew up in New Costessey but now lives in Dereham, will be her partner for the show.

'It will be a fantastic opportunity,' said Mr Miller. 'Dancing with Shirley is amazing, she is an amazing dancer and a lovely person. I have had lessons with Shirley since I was seven-years-old and have grown up with her as my teacher. So it's such a special opportunity to dance with her on stage.'

It is not the first time Mr Miller has appeared on stage with the woman known as 'The Queen of Latin'. Earlier this year he danced with her at the National Television Awards before she handed out the Best Presenter award.

As well as many hours of training for competitions across the world, Mr Miller also teaches at his parents' dance school in Norwich and he has been impressed by a number of this year's novices on Strictly Come Dancing.

'I think the show this year is at the best dancing level it has ever been but I have two favourites,' he said. 'One is Joe Sugg as his journey has been the best, he improves almost every week and works so hard. The second is Faye Tozer and her partner Giovanni Pernice as Faye is just a fantastic dancer and impresses me every week.'

You can see Mr Miller in The Jack and Beanstalk pantomime at the Liverpool Empire from December 14 to January 6.