Inside Chris Appleton’s friendship with Kim Kardashian as she scores his Strictly moves

Kim Kardashian has lent her expertise to judge BFF Chris Appleton’s dancing (Picture: BBC/Instagram)

Chris Appleton has shared an Instagram video of celebrity bestie Kim Kardashian judging his dance moves, Strictly style.

In the clip, Chris, 43, shows off some fancy footwork while an unimpressed Kim, 45, looks on from the back seat of her car.

‘It doesn’t look as good today,’ Chris admits as the iconic Strictly Come Dancing theme briefly plays over his parking lot jig.

Brandishing a card which indicates a meagre two points, Kim concludes: ‘For that, for not being good under pressure, just because you’re, y’know, you.’

The exchange comes amid Chris’s Strictly debut this weekend, for which he has been partnered with professional dancer Amy Dowden.

Chris has an A-list cheerleader in Kim K… but how much do you really know about their friendship?

How did Kim Kardashian and Chris Appleton meet?

When not appearing on Strictly, Leicester-born Chris is best known as Kim’s closest friend and hair stylist.

‘She called me to do her hair, and we clicked instantly,’ Chris told Spotlight last year.

‘I call Kim my muse because she’s so open to trying something new and different. We both love pushing boundaries, and it just opens me up creatively to keep things interesting.’

Since then, he’s found himself on speed-dial for all of Kim’s hair needs.

His favourite look of Kim’s? ‘Oh, that’s like picking a favourite child,’ he said. ‘It’s so hard to pick just one.’

Who else has Chris Appleton worked with?

Chris rose to fame working with fashion icons Kate Moss and Cara Delevingne before moving to London, where he worked with Rita Ora in 2016.

‘I worked with her one day, and then she never let go of me; she just kept me for two years, and we travelled all over. We had a lot of fun creating short hair, long hair, pink, blue… we’d always change,’ he told Grazia of this formative role.

As his star continued to rise, he moved to Los Angeles, where his styling of Christina Aguilera’s hair on the US Voice brought him recognition and acclaim.

It was this which led to his work with Jennifer Lopez, who saw the ‘do on social media and knew she needed to work with Chris.

Since then, he’s worked with such massive names as Britney Spears, Katy Perry and Ariana Grande… for whom he’s said to have created her signature high ponytail.

Chris is appearing on this year’s Strictly Come Dancing (Picture: BBC)

How long have Kim Kardashian and Chris Appleton been friends?

Chris was contacted by Kim’s team not long after arriving in Los Angeles, after she took notice of his work with J Lo.

It was clearly a successful collaboration, and he frequently appeared on Keeping Up with the Kardashians as their relationship progressed to real-life friendship.

In a short YouTube video uploaded to socials, Chris recalled: ‘You walked in and were like, “Hi,” in that, like, nice voice you have.’

‘You don’t talk to me like that anymore,’ he joked.

‘Do you not remember me?’ he quipped.

‘The amount of people that would write [to] me in the beginning, being like, who is him [sic]? Set me up. Really, I don’t know if he’s into girls, guys,’ Kim shared.

Chris enjoyed a whirlwind romance with actor Lukas Gage (Picture: Shutterstock)

Is Chris Appleton married?

In April 2023, Chris married The White Lotus star, Lukas Gage.

Kim served as officiant at the wedding, which took place in Las Vegas, and saw the two grooms wearing matching black fur jackets, leather jackets and unbuttoned shirts.

After the wedding, Chris, Lukas and Kim enjoyed a private acoustic performance from Shania Twain.

‘We did it,’ wrote Chris on Instagram at the time, sharing a series of pictures from the ceremony.

Chris and Lukas filed for divorce a mere six months later, with Chris citing ‘irreconcilable differences’ in the official documents at the time.

Kim is sure to be Chris’s most glamorous supporter (Picture: Getty Images)

Will Kim Kardashian appear on Strictly this year?

With Chris competing on this year’s Strictly, this has led to some speculation that Kim might show up to support her bestie.

‘Kim is so proud of Chris, and she’s in touch with him a lot,’ a source told The Sun.

‘She opened her UK flagship shop in London at the end of July and is trying to coincide a visit to the store with watching Chris in action at Elstree.

‘Getting Kim into place would be like a military operation, but they can make it happen if her diary lines up.’

Kim is, of course, no Strictly stranger – having appeared on Dancing With the Stars in 2008, where she was partnered with Mark Ballas… and finished in a disappointing eleventh place.

‘Damn, I wish someone told me to have some shots before Dancing With the Stars, and I might have lasted a bit longer,’ she once joked as footage emerged of her dancing at sister Khloé’s 40th birthday.

Chris has been behind some of Kim’s most iconic looks (Picture: Getty Images)

What has Kim Kardashian said about Chris’s Strictly stint?

Commenting beneath a post in which Chris showed off his Strictly sequins, Kim wrote: ‘OMG OMG You’re gonna kill it!!!’

Chris later revealed: ‘She sent me a beautiful bunch of flowers and said to break a leg.

‘She has been completely supportive and has said, “I am so proud of you.” It’s nice to know I have that support.’

Strictly Come Dancing is now available to watch on BBC iPlayer. The series continues on BBC One every Saturday night, with a results show on Sunday

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