A WHITCHURCH star and his celebrity dance partner have stepped up to the cha-cha-challenge in week two of Strictly Come Dancing.

AJ Pritchard and his partner, 19-year-old Saffron Barker, were the first couple to take to the dancefloor on Saturday, dancing the cha-cha-cha to Jess Glynne and Jax Jones’ hit One Touch.

Despite appearing more confident this week, the pair were given 21 points for their dance – six points less than their tango in week one.

However, presenter Tess Daly was full of praise as she told the couple ‘what a way to open the show’.

Shirley Ballas kicked off the judges’ comments by calling Saffron a ‘very inspiring young lady’ and telling her that ‘the sky is the limit’.

Enthusiastic, long-standing judge, Bruno Tonioli, was also impressed with the duos performance.

He said: “Saffron and AJ, you’re like FedEx – 'we deliver'.

“That was such a complex routine, you lost timing once but you still managed to do extremely well.

“More of this, thank you very much.”

Craig Revel-Horwood was slightly more critical of the couple’s cha-cha-cha, but did commend Saffron for her ‘great spins’, stating that they were the best he had seen for week two.

And the pair could not help but smile as newest judge, Motsi Mabuse, praised them for maintaining composure during the difficult routine which saw them make a few minor errors.

“You did make a mistake, but you didn’t show it,” said Motsi.

“Now everyone has got to deliver, because you did.”

In the couple’s VT shown before Saturday’s live performance, Saffron can be seen taking AJ to her family home in Brighton.

“It’s Sunday, so that can only mean one thing… Sunday roast at the Barker House.” said Saffron.

While tucking into his Sunday dinner, AJ spoke of the pair’s previous performance with Saffron’s family, claiming that the 27 they had received for their Tango was the highest score he had received for a week-one performance.