Was he hinting?

It's finally Blackpool week and the stars of Strictly Come Dancing are gearing up for one of the most exciting nights of the competition. But no one is perhaps as excited as Karen Hauer, who is celebrating a Strictly first thanks to her celebrity partner, comedian Chris Ramsey. The professional dancer revealed that this year marks the first time she has made it to the Tower Ballroom since she joined the show in 2012 without appearing in a dance-off beforehand! And Chris was the first to thank her for not breaking this news to him before last Saturday night's show.WATCH THE VIDEO ABOVE: Karen Hauer gives HELLO! a tour of her stunning home Sharing the news on his Instagram Stories on Monday morning, Chris said on his way to rehearsals: "Big shout out to Karen. Karen revealed that this is the first time she has got to Blackpool without having been in the dance-off. Thank-you Karen for not telling me that at any point up until now cos I would have exploded under the pressure!" We definitely wouldn't blame him either; Karen has been partnered with some brilliant celeb partners over the years, including Charles Venn and Mark Wright, but still found herself in the bottom two ahead of Blackpool.Chris and Karen are heading to BlackpoolMORE: The Strictly Come Dancing relationships that didn't stand the test of timeBlackpool is a huge highlight in each series of Strictly, with couples aiming to reach Blackpool Week if not the final. As well as the springy dancefloor, each couple is given huge props, elaborate staging and lighting design and their very own backing dancers to help fill the huge dancefloor, which is the biggest stage the celebs will have danced on so far in the competition.Chris has helped Karen reach Blackpool without being in a dance-off beforehandMORE: Strictly pro Karen Hauer shares a peek inside her home with boyfriend David WebbLast weekend saw the exit of BBC sports presenter Mike Bushell and Katya Jones, who were voted out of the competition after finding themselves in the bottom two for the fourth time. In a surprise turn of events, the dance-off veterans were joined by RuPaul's Drag Race judge Michelle Visage and her partner Giovanni Pernice, despite their American Smooth to Etta James' I Just Want To Make Love to You landing them in second place on Saturday's leaderboard.Like this story? Sign up to our newsletter to get other stories like this delivered straight to your inbox.

Kate and Gerry McCann were at a restaurant in Scotland when they were photographed, it was reported.

They hardly ever are this affectionate while on duty.

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NASA's next Venus probe could be an atmosphere-skimming robotic stingray designed by the University of Buffalo. UB's CRASH Lab, which is the institution's Crashworthinesss for Aerospace Structures and Hybrids laboratory, has been selected by NASA to get early-stage funding as part of a program the agency devised to come up with new and innovative concept designs. The stringray-style spacecraft design would have "wings" that can flap in the high winds of the upper atmosphere of Venus, according to UB, which would allow controlled flight that's possible with high efficiency.

A teenage girl has been charged with murder after a well-known animal rescuer was found “beaten, slashed and tied to a bed” at his home in Philadelphia.Court documents indicate the 14-year-old suspect, who cannot be named for legal reasons, also faces charges of robbery, evidence tampering and other counts in the death of 59-year-old Albert Chernoff.