Strictly's Karen Hauer shares her favourite ever celebrity partner

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Strictly Come Dancing's Karen Hauer has revealed her favourite ever celebrity partner on the show - and shared the bittersweet memories she has of him.

The pro dancer is the longest-serving female cast member on the BBC series so she has plenty of former partners to choose from, but named the late Hairy Biker Dave Myers as the one she looks back on most fondly.

Appearing on Good Morning Britain with castmate Gorka Marquez, the pair also offered their views on Giovanni Pernice's departure and looked back at their memories of Robin Windsor.

What, how, and why?

Strictly Come Dancing's pro stars often form a close bond with their celebrity partners and as the longest-serving female cast member, Karen Hauer has had plenty of chances to make new friends.

Asked by Good Morning Britain who she looked back on the most fondly from her 12 series and counting on the show, Hauer said that her most treasured partnership was with Hairy Bikers star Dave Myers, who passed away in February.

Hauer said: "I love all of (my Strictly partners), I really do. But one that's really close to my heart is Dave Myers, Hairy Biker, who I absolutely adored. And he was just everything. He was just a bundle of joy."

Myers was Hauer's second partner on the show took part in 2013, the same year as Good Morning Britain host Susanna Reid who danced with Hauer's ex-husband Kevin Clifton.

Hauer continued: "Actually because of (Myers), I started to enjoy Strictly, making sure that I was not taking myself too seriously and that you can entertain and be fun.

Reid added: "He just threw himself into it. He had such a huge sense of humour, didn't he?

Hauer replied: "He absolutely adored it, and he just wanted to entertain. And that's what it was about. He wasn't about the perfection. It was about how he made people feel."

What else did Karen Hauer and Gorka Marquez say?

Not every Strictly partnership is a match made in heaven, and Reid asked Hauer and her castmate Gorka Marquez how they felt about the recent controversy over Giovanni Pernice leaving the pro cast following accusations about his behaviour from Amanda Abbington.

Asked what it was like when a castmate left, Marquez replied: "I think it's like, when Aljaz left or when Artem did, or when Anton decided to go to the judges' room. Everybody's amazing, everybody is like a big part of the show. So when someone decides to, like, leave or change their careers, sad for everybody."

Talking about whether he was still in touch with Pernice, Marquez said: "Sometimes we speak, yeah. Obviously, he's so busy, I'm busy."

The Strictly dancers were also asked about their former co-star Robin Windsor, who died in February. The Strictly cast are planning to pay tribute to him in a special show this series.

Marquez said: "It was a terrible loss, it it was a lot for everybody. It's so great we can do this special show to remember him, you know, and celebrate him."

Hauer added: "He's he's definitely missed. We're just sending our love to his family and all of his friends, and...we miss him so much."

Good Morning Britain airs on ITV1 at 6am on weekdays.

Read more: Dave Myers

• Si King reflects on friendship with the late Dave Myers - 'There's no Hairy Bikers without him' (OK!, 2 min read)

• Hairy Bikers Dave Myers revealed how chemotherapy changed his tastebuds (Yahoo, 3 min read)

• Motorcyclists honour late Hairy Bikers star Dave Myers in memorial ride (Sky News, 1 min read)