Gemma Atkinson will perform the cha-cha-cha as her first routine on 'Strictly Come Dancing'.

Gemma Atkinson

Gemma Atkinson

The former 'Emmerdale' star found out she'd been paired with Aljaž Škorjanec at the beginning of the month and, although they've only had two weeks to rehearse, she can't wait to get out under the glitter ball on Saturday (16.09.17) to show off the moves she's learnt to Shawn Mendes' 'There's Nothing Holding Me Back'.

Taking to her Instagram account today (15.09.17), she wrote alongside a short clip of her and the professional dancer in rehearsals: "It's the cha cha!!! To Shawn Mendes so excited @aljazskorjanec Wish us luck! (sic)."

And Gemma, 32, is certainly giving training her everything as just two days ago Aljaž, 27, was forced to glue the blonde beauty's shoe back together after she tore the sole off the tanned-coloured heels.

As she filmed the hunk gluing the sole back together, Gemma said: "My shoes, I've been dancing so much."

However, although she's been working hard - just like the rest of the competitors - a new study has revealed that dancing ability could be down to genes as research shows successful dancers are most likely to be Taureans with dark hair, dark eyes, small feet and have no siblings.

The study was commissioned to celebrate the launch of new series 'The Secret Life of the Ballroom' and the results were based on a random sample of over 100 of the most successful international dancers from across a range of disciplines including ballroom, ballet and contemporary to analyse genetic and social factors. Physical attributes such as shoe size, family status, hometown and star signs were analysed to discover statistically significant patterns and this was then compared to the national average.

Statistician Dr Geoff Ellis said: "The results give credence to the theory that dancers are born, rather than made - though the public survey would suggest that the majority of us still enjoy getting our dancing shoes on! Even though there are various physical and social factors that would seem to lend themselves to being successful as a dancer, thankfully that still doesn't stop anyone from giving dancing a go and enjoying it as much as those in new series 'The Secret Life of the Ballroom', for example."


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