Robbie Savage will return to the 'Strictly Come Dancing' ballroom for the show's annual Christmas special.

Robbie Savage

Robbie Savage

The retired footballer was paired with Ola Jordan on the show six years ago, but was eliminated in week 10, and he's warned viewers not to expect much improvement when he makes his comeback alongside new Australian dancing professional Dianne Buswell next month.

He said: "It's been six years since I was on the show and I am still as bad as I was then! I'm looking forward to getting back on the 'Strictly' dancefloor."

The special show - which will air on Christmas Day (25.12.17) - sees the likes of Kimberley Walsh and Judy Murray joining the line-up of past stars.

Judy said she is "just as bad" as she was in 2014.

Fans of the BBC One show will be eager to see how stars such as Colin Jackson, Katie Derham and Jeremy Vine do when they return to the dancefloor in a bid to claim the Christmas glitter trophy.

Tess Daly and Claudia Winkleman will host the festive edition of the programme, while the usual judges - Craig Revel Horwood, Darcey Bussell, Bruno Tonioli, and Shirley Ballas - will be dishing out marks to the returning celebrities.

Meanwhile, outspoken panelist Craig has defended his decision to score Aston Merrygold a four for his Viennese Waltz in this year's show on Saturday (4.11.17).

The 52-year-old judge gave the former JLS singer - who had previously been the favourite to win the competition - the low score for his performance, and when combined with the audience vote, the star found himself in the dreaded dance-off and was later booted out.

But now, Craig has said he isn't to blame for Aston's shock exit, as the public didn't vote to save him from the bottom two.

He said: "We didn't put him in the bottom two, the audience did."