DUNFERMLINE veteran JJ Chalmers entered Strictly Come Dancing with a bang on Saturday night.

He took to the famous ballroom for his first scored routine with partner Amy Dowden, performing a waltz to What A Wonderful World by Louis Armstrong.

After weeks of intensive training he told the Press last week that the experience had been challenging but he was ready to get the “show on the road” – and he didn’t disappoint.

Despite no dance experience the judges marked his performance 19 out of 30, landing him in the middle of the leaderboard. There was not a dry-eye in the house after the TV presenter’s waltz which was performed in honour of his brother.

JJ explained that he was supposed to be coming home from Afghanistan so he could go to his brother’s wedding.

He’d asked a colleague who was a semi-pro dancer if he could help him learn how to waltz so he could impress his girlfriend, who is now his wife, with a few moves.

But after a week of practice both of the marines were injured after being in hurt in a bomb blast that killed two of their colleagues.

JJ went through dozens of surgeries following the incident; he lost two of his fingers, sustained holes in his legs, suffered scars on his face and chest and at one point even had one arm grafted temporarily to his body.

Cassidy Little, JJ’s Marine buddy who had taught him to waltz, lost his leg in the blast.

JJ had said: “Not only do I want to make my wife proud but my brother is going to be in the audience and there is a little bit of extra pressure that he is finally going to see the dance that I should have done at his wedding.”

Judges Shirley Ballas and Motsi Mabuse stood to congratulate the couple while even harsh critic Craig Revel Horwood said the dance was “really, really beautiful”.

There is no public vote or elimination on the first weekend but the judges’ marks carry forward and help determine who will be in the bottom two.

Week two will also see the public given their first chance to vote this year.