Strictly Come Dancing winner unrecognisable as they reunite with partner after 20 years

Strictly Come Dancing professional Lilia Kopylova looked unrecognisable as she reunited with Darren Gough, almost 20 years on from when they won the BBC favourite together. Lilia, 47, lifted the Glitterball Trophy with Darren, 55, after they beat off competition from celebrities such as Patsy Palmer, Gloria Hunniford and James Martin in one of the earliest outings of the Saturday night staple.

Fans will remember that the pair also picked up two Christmas special trophies, before topping the leader board on the live tour. But asDarren recently arrived on set of the upcoming series, he thought he was about toreflect on his own experiences before getting a massive surprise.

Waiting in the wings for him was none other than Lilia, and when she waltzed out to see the sports star, he exclaimed: "What are you doing here?!"

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Dressed in a white suit, Lilia and her former dance partner wasted no time in getting back to their old routines and looked thrilled with their reunion. Darren looked unrecognisable from his Strictly days, as he now boasts salt and pepper locks.

When asked for some advice for this year's contestants, Darren said: "I think the best advice I could give is to be yourself. I'm really proud that I stuck to my own personality.

"Like any TV show, they try to create a character, and they want everybody to be different and for the interviews to try to show a certain character."

"You can stick with that character or you can just be who you are, and the public will like that. Don't be something you're not because people will see through you.

Lilia was also paired with rugby player Matt Dawson and they reached the final in 2005 but lost out the winning title to cricketer Mark Ramprakash and Karen Hardy. Thelast time she appeared on the programme was in 2009, when she was paired up with jockey Richard Dunwoody and was eliminated in the second week.

Cal Gildart of Ladbrokes said: “Darren Gough and Lilia Kopylova are the most successful couple in Strictly history, so it was only right that we helped to bring them back together to celebrate 20 years since they danced their way to glory.”

Ahead of this year's series launching on Saturday night, odds on who could win the show have already been coming in. This year's famous faces heading to the dancefloor to impress judges Shirley Ballas, Craig Revel Horwood, Anton Du Beke include EastEnders actress Balvinder Sopal, whose odds of winning stand at 12/1, whilst Gladiator Harry Aikines-Aryeetey's odds currently stand at 16/1. Geordie Shore star Vicky Pattison's chances are slightly higher, with her odds of lifting the Glitterball Trophy being listed as 10/1.

Neighbours legend Stefan Dennis is set to show off his footwork on the dance floor but his odds currently stand at 28/1, whilst Drag Race star La Voix's odds sit at 33/1. At the lower end of the list is rugby player Chris Robshaw with odds of 50/1 and showbiz guru Ross King, who has been given 66/1 odds of winning.

Meanwhile, it's also been predicted that model Ellie Goldstein, who is the first participant with Down's Syndrome to take part in the main show, has 5/1 odds of winning, whilst Love Island winner Dani Dyer has 4/1 odds. But, as it stands, Ladbrokes' favourite to win is Emmerdale star Lewis Cope, who was drafted in as alast-minute replacement for Game of Thrones actor Kristian Nairn, when he withdrew before rehearsals started. His odds of winning the whole series currently stand at 3/1.

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