Strictly Come Dancing fans spot 'icon' in the audience cheering on EastEnders' Jamie Borthwick

Strictly Come Dancing fans were stunned to spot an EastEnders icon in the audience cheering on .

Fans of have been watching flourish on the dancefloor alongside his professional dance partner 29. Week on week, the couple have secured high scores from the judges as they have shimmied, shook and waltzed their way to becoming favourites to win the 2024 season.

On Saturday night, the couple dressed as Wham! icon George Michael to dance a Samba to the sound of the classic song Faith. And while the pair got one of their lowest scores of the season, securing just 31 points, viewers were practically too distracted to notice as a major star was sitting in the audience.

Viewers couldn't believe it when they saw Sonia Fowler actress 41, cheering in the live studio audience. And countless viewers flocked to social media to marvel at her guest appearance - with many appreciating that it was the Icon themed week that she pulled up a chair to support her Albert Square co-star.

READ MORE:

One fan wrote on X: "Natalie Cassidy in the #strictly audience! Now she IS an icon." Noting that Natalie's character is currently in jail in the long-running soap, another fan joked: "Fudge me they’re let Sonia Jackson out on day release." And a further fan typed: "Sonia has escaped prison, she is in the audience."

Natalie herself was a contestant on Strictly back in 2009 during season seven of the show where she was paired with dancer Vincent Simone, 45. The pair performed well across the series - but failed to make the final, which was won by sports presenter Chris Hollins and his dance partner Ola Jordan. Natalie and Vincent were voted off three weeks before the finale that year.

Jamie and Michelle have begged fans for votes after giving one of their weaker performances of the series so far on Saturday night. Sharing a video via Stories after their performance, Michelle said: "Hi everyone. I hope you enjoyed our Samba tonight. I had the best time." Jamie then said: "We really did have a brilliant time." Michelle continued: "And we hope you enjoyed it too. If you enjoyed our Samba, please give us a little vote." And Jamie added: "We would really appreciate it. We need all the help we can get."

Jamie has been playing Jay Brown in EastEnders since he was just 12 years old and he remains in the role today. Offscreen, he is a big West Ham fan who loves snooker, and playing the guitar. He has bagged several acting awards for his EastEnders, including a British Soap Award for best dramatic actor in 2008 and an Inside Soap Award for best actor in 2022. But don't expect to see him celebrating with a glass of fizz anytime soon - the star, who grew up in London with parents Simon and Sharon, who ran nightclubs and pubs, is tee-total.

"I've never touched a drop of alcohol in my life," he explained in an interview. "I grew up in pubs and people used to come in at 9pm and they're really, really nice. Then they used to leave at 1am and they wasn't very nice, and I was like: 'Do you know what? I don't fancy that.' So I've never drunk, ever."

Follow Mirror Celebs on , , , , , and