Aljaz Skorjanec shares Heathrow chaos ordeal as BBC Strictly star forced to take last-ditch action amid closures
Strictly Come Dancing star Aljaž Škorjanec was among those caught up in the chaos at Heathrow Airport on Friday.
Europe’s busiest airport announced its closure in the morning and has warned of “significant” disruption following a blaze at North Hyde substation in Hayes, west London, which began overnight.
More than 1,300 flights have been affected according to tracking website Flightradar24, with passengers urged not to travel to the airport until further notice.
Dancer Škorjanec, 35, who stars in the BBC’s Strictly, seems to have been caught up in the madness as he expressed concern after having to alter his plans to return home following a trip with daughter Lyra.
Sharing images of the fire at the substation on his Instagram Story, he wrote: “Just packed the car to head to the airport when I saw this.. I hope no one is hurt.”
Making the best of the bad situation, his next post showed his young daughter snuggled up to him as he revealed he’d been forced to take action.
The dancer revealed: “I rebooked our flight for tomorrow morning and immediately resumed the position on the couch”.
Škorjanec was due to arrive back in the UK on Friday with Lyra after being away with the 20-month-old, whom he shares with wife Janette Manrara, 41.
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Earlier this month, the Strictly: It Takes Two host became emotional as she talked about being away from her husband and child.
Manrara spent much of March in Ireland and Northern Ireland for the first scheduled shows of Chicago, in which she is starring.
Having previously shared how she won’t see her husband Škorjanec or her daughter, Manrara was visibly upset as she talked about saying goodbye.
The choreographer wiped away tears in an Instagram post as she updated fans on how she was missing her family.
She began: “Hi gang. Just said my goodbyes to Aljaž and Lyra, and I won’t see them for two weeks now but sharing is good because it makes us all feel better.
“And I miss them a lot. It’s the longest I’ll be away from Lyra so just starting to count down to the day I see her again.
“But in the meantime, I’m going to stay strong and know that mummy is making her proud.
“And she is going to have the best time with her cousins and her nan in Slovenia.”
Last week, Škorjanec shared a sweet post featuring his daughter at the airport and on the plane, writing: “First solo trip.”
Another post showed Lyra, presumably with her dad’s family, was captioned: “Matching PJs on a couch kind a Sunday..”
One more showed a series of snaps and was captioned “Life is beautiful,” in Slovenian.
In the latest updates, it’s been reported Heathrow will be closed for “24 hours,” with thousands having to rearrange flights or make their way home after being diverted elsewhere.