Maisie Smith’s seriously looks stunning in the first picture with Kai Widdrington after replacing AJ Odudu

SERIOUSLY Maisie Smith looks incredible in her first picture with Kai Widdrington after replacing AJ Odudu on the upcoming show’s arena tour.

The former EastEnders star, 20, finished second in last year’s BBC competition’s eighteenth series.

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Now, Maisie has landed herself a role on her Serious tour starting later this month.

Earlier today, the actress shared a snap of herself with her new dance partner Kai on her Instagram Story.

Maisie looked stunning in a tassel dress with gold sequins, while Kai rocked some smart trousers and a black and gold striped shirt.

The star captioned the post: “Let’s go cut some shapes @kaiwidd.”

On Thursday, Maisie shared the news on social media.

She told her 1m tall followers: “So excited to be a part of @bbcstrictly group again on this year’s arena tour – dance to great things @kaiwidd 🏻 I wish @ajodudu quick recovery 🙏🏼❤️. “

Many people flocked to the comments section to congratulate Maisie on her new role.

Her former dance partner Gorka Marquez wrote: “You’ll be awesome!!! And you’re getting along well with @kaiwidd 👏 CANNOT WAIT to see you bandmates!!! 👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻. “

True 2022 winner and EastEnders co-star Rose Ayling-Ellis added: “Maisie!!! I’m so excited to be on tour with you!!!!”

Aj replied, “Thank you @maisymithofficial. You will have the best time with Kai. ✨❤️.”

After the news was announced, Maisie said: “I’m delighted to be asked to restart my serious journey on this year’s arena tour.

“Kai and I will be doing Quickstep and Samba – I can’t wait for practice to start next week. It’s been a pleasure to dance with everyone and it’s great to see my EastEnders friend Rose again. I pray Wish AJ a speedy recovery.”

While a heartbroken AJ said: “I am devastated to not be able to participate in the Serious tour due to injury.

“I was hoping for one last dance with Kai, but I obviously had to take my doctor’s advice. I wish my Strict family all the best of luck on the road and I’ll definitely stay there. It’s to cheer them up.”

It was a painful end to AJ’s Serious journey after ligament damage forced her to leave the final with just one day’s notice.

When AJ and Kai aren’t on the dance floor, they’re waving their arms around with their electrochemistry.

Viewers were left desperate when they became an item and even AJ’s grandson asked why they didn’t kiss.

Maisie was on the BBC dance show last year alongside Gorka Marquez.

She recently said goodbye to her role as Tiffany Butcher on EastEnders after 13 years.

Maisie and Kai will join 2021 winners Rose Ayling-Ellis and Giovanni Pernice on the tour.

Sara Davies and Aljaž Skorjanec, Tilly Ramsay and Nikita Kuzmin, Rhys Stephenson and Nancy Xu, John Whaite and Johannes Radebe, and Max George and Katya Jones will also participate.

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