A Strictly Come Dancing professional has been forced to re-arrange their flight after Heathrow Airport shut down on Friday following a fire at an electric substation.

A Strictly Come Dancing professional has been stranded abroad after Heathrow Airport was forced to close following a blaze at an electric substation. Heathrow Airport is expected to be closed all day, and thousands have been left without power. Over 100 people have been evacuated. The closure has reportedly affected more than 1,300 flights, which have been cancelled or diverted. Heathrow is urging passengers not to travel to any of its terminals, with British Airways, Virgin Atlantic, and Lufthansa being the most impacted airlines.

Taking to Instagram, the BBC star informed fans that he had packed his car to head to the airport with his daughter when he heard about Heathrow’s closure.

Aljaz informed his fans that he had to rebook his fight due to the airport closure (Image: Instagram)

Aljaž Škorjanec, originally from Slovenia, informed fans that he had to rebook his flight back to London for tomorrow morning due to the chaos. He is married to fellow dancer Janette Manrara, and they have a daughter named Lyra-Rose, born in 2023. The pair have been married since 2017, and Aljaz recently went home to Slovenia with Lyra to see his family.

He posted on Instagram a sweet image of himself embracing his daughter, saying: “I rebooked our flight to tomorrow morning and immediately resumed the position on the couch.” Aljaz also said he hopes ‘no one is hurt’ at Heathrow as firefighters tackled the blaze.

This news will be emotional for Janette, who broke down in tears after saying goodbye to Lyra earlier this month. Taking to Instagram, the former Strictly Come Dancing professional admitted that it will ‘be the longest she will be away from Lyra’ but said that ‘sharing is good, and it makes us all feel better.’

The couple have been married since 2017 and welcomed their first child in 2023 (Image: Getty)

Janette also confessed that she would count down until she saw Lyra again and would continue to stay strong as Janette goes to spend time with her cousins and her grandmother. Aljaz quit ‘Strictly’ in 2022, a year after his wife Janette welcomed their first child, Lyra, into the world in July 2023. He returned to the show in 2024 for the 22nd series.

Speaking about his two-year break from ‘Strictly’, he said on the programme: “I got to look after my beautiful wife, my beautiful baby for two years. But I missed everything about ‘Strictly’.”