Sunderland's Northern Spire makes an appearance on Strictly

Sunderland’s new Northern Spire bridge was thrown into the national limelight when it featured on Strictly Come Dancing.

The new bridge, which opened to traffic at the end of August, took centre stage as it hosted dancing favourites Faye Tozer and Giovanni Pernice during one of their rehearsal sessions.

The bridge, boasting its 105m-tall central pylon, was showcased during the BBC flagship show as actress and former Steps popstar Faye and Italian professional dancer Giovanni practiced their Foxtrot routine on the bridge deck.

Sunderland City Council invited the couple to be the first to dance on the new bridge to celebrate Faye’s connection to the city. Faye is married to a Sunderland businessman and lives just a few miles from Northern Spire.

On Tuesday afternoon this week, amid a veil of secrecy, the bridge was temporarily closed to allow the Strictly film crew to capture Faye and Giovanni practising their moves on the deck, directly under the pylon, which is the North East’s tallest structure.

The BBC had requested that their visit to Northern Spire be kept under wraps until the programme aired on Saturday night.