A CONTESTANT on BBC TV’s Strictly Come Dancing wowed the judges after taking to the dance floor in a kilt provided by a Dunbar businessman.

JJ Chalmers impressed the judging panel of Craig Revel Horwood, Shirley Ballas and Motsi Mabuse with his performance of the Viennese Waltz on Saturday evening.

The television presenter donned the Cameron of Erracht modern military tartan to reflect his time in the Royal Marines, with the kilt coming from Gordon Nicolson Kiltmakers.

Gordon, who lives in Dunbar with wife Louise and children Eve and Hamish, said: “We had done one for Strictly before when Judy Murray was on and she danced with Anton Du Beke.

“We made a kilt for him.

“They [Strictly] were well chuffed with us and then they came back to us.

“It is about reputation as to why they came back.

“They contacted us but they had done their homework on us – they didn’t just pick the first kiltmaker in the phonebook.

“They did their homework, saw we had a kilt academy as well and that was an attraction as well.

“Obviously, visually for them, they wanted the best-made kilt because it has to hang and swing properly.”

The kiltmakers, based in Edinburgh but with storage facilities in the former Belhaven Brewery distribution centre in Dunbar, received a message last Sunday asking them if they could create a kilt for the forthcoming show.

Emma Wilkinson, kiltmaker, then took up the challenge of creating the special kilt, with measurements provided for the father-of-two.

Fabric arrived on the Monday afternoon, with Emma spending 12 hours from 2pm to 2am the following day creating the kilt before adding the finishing touches over another two hours on Tuesday afternoon.

It was then taken to London ahead of the dress rehearsal before JJ wore it with pride alongside partner Amy Dowden on Saturday night.

Twenty-seven-year-old Emma, from Edinburgh, said: “I think first of all when I first saw it, it was a complete sense of pride.

“He looked so good and danced so brilliantly. He did himself and the kilt justice and it looked amazing; better than I could have imagined it. It is a real morale boost for the team to see it live on television on a massive show like Strictly after such a hard year for everybody.

“The morale boost was just unparalleled in such a difficult year for me and everyone.

“For me, personally, watching Strictly was something I did with my grandparents and I said to them I would love to work on the costumes.

“It was kind of like a dream realised in a roundabout way.”

Speaking on the programme on Saturday night, The Invictus Games athlete said: “Our routine is set in Scotland so I am wearing my kilt in this dance.

“It is kind of perfect for the Viennese Waltz – it is all about spinning and all about the swirls.

“I feel so comfy and natural wearing this – it feels like home.”

After the show, 33-year-old JJ, who scored 25 out of 30 from the three judges and remains in the competition, also took to social media to deliver a special thank you to the business, which has been running for more than a decade.

He said: “Thank you @EmmaWilkinson.design for your amazing effort and your beautiful work.”