Victoria Pendleton back on her bike for Strictly Come Dancing

Victoria Pendleton is getting back in the saddle by riding a flying bike for her routine on this weekend's Strictly Come Dancing.

The retired Olympic gold medal-winning cyclist will arrive on the dancefloor pedalling a BMX suspended by wires when the programme comes from Wembley Arena on Saturday.

To complete the look from her Team GB days she will be wearing a red, white and blue outfit as she performs in front of a live audience of 6,000 fans on the BBC1 show.

She and professional partner Brendan Cole are due to perform a paso doble to the Queen hit Bicycle Race.

Her arrival is expected to be reminiscent of the flying bike scene in movie hit ET - The Extra Terrestrial.

The "dancing through the decades"-themed show will also see Pendleton's fellow Olympian Louis Smith return to his sport by including a spot of gymnastics in his routine. The silver medallist has already featured the splits, a one-armed handstand and a flip during his time on the show.

Last year the Wembley show saw contestant Russell Grant fired from a cannon and judge Craig Revel Horwood flew through the air as he mimicked Queen guitarist Brian May.

A show insider said producers were pulling out all the stops to make this year's event even more spectacular.

Performers include Kylie Minogue, who will sing her 80s hit The Locomotion, and Girls Aloud - featuring contestant Kimberley Walsh - are to perform their Children In Need single "Something New".

Extra dancers have been drafted in for the show, including half a dozen people performing on roller-skates.

A Royal Marines band of 50 people will also be in the studio as the nine remaining couples aim to avoid the dance-off which will see one pair eliminated on Sunday.

Crocked dancer Robin Windsor was heading back into training today after being laid low with a vomiting bug yesterday. He and Lisa Riley are due to perform a "high camp" samba to the Rose Royce disco classic Car Wash.

Windsor reassured fans he was on the road to recovery this morning. He told Twitter followers: "Woke up and ate the entire contents of the fridge - feeling better."

PA