Strictly Come Dancing Live: Glitz, glamour, sequins and incredible athleticism on show in Sheffield

The production - dubbed The Happiest Show in the World - was just the tonic to beat the post Christmas blues.

A show-stopping number was performed by the professional dancers who were joined on stage by celebrities from this year's BBC Strictly Come Dancing TV series.

There were cheers for actor Bobby Brazier, tennis champion Annabel Croft, broadcaster Krishnan Guru-Murthy, presenter Angela Scanlon and their professional partners.

This year’s winner, actress Ellie Leach and her partner Vito Coppola, received rapturous applause and again demonstrated their incredible skills on the dancefloor. There was warmth and love for national treasure Angela Rippon and a roar of approval for the flamboyant Layton Williams and his partner Nikita Kuzmin.

Last to the stage were the fabulous TV judges - Craig Revel Horwood, panto-villain and show choreographer; glamorous granny Shirley Ballas and the hilarious Anton Du Beke, whose witty commentary was one of the highlights.

The couples performed two dances to music from the Strictly Live Tour band and their amazing singers. Dances were scored by the judges but the Arena audience had the final vote by text.

Spell-binding choreography was punctured with pyrotechnics and there were a mind-boggling number of costume changes. If fun, energy, enthusiasm and colour were what you were looking for, the Utilita Arena was the place to be.

In such a big space the dancers had to work hard to move across the stage - there were 7,000 people in the Arena audience compared to 400 in the TV studio.

But it was clear they loved every minute and they received the warmest of Sheffield welcomes, with everyone up on their feet by the end.

Highlights included Layton’s incredible backflips, Angela’s vertical leg lifts, Ellie and Vito's paso doble and Bobby and Diane's samba, which displayed such youthful exuberance it nearly made Anton cry. The spectacle was compered by choreographer Janette Manrara and packed with jokes about facelifts, hair transplants, new hips and innuendoes.

The Sheffield glitterball was rightly lifted by Nikita and Layton, who scored six perfect tens. Layton was praised for having an incredible tour wardrobe of sequinned catsuits and accessories, a work ethic to match and a personality 'bigger than the Arena'.

All in all a fabulous feel-good show which made the spirits soar.