IT’S set to be a strictly dazzling and sequin-filled night of entertainment.

Tonight millions of people are expected to tune in for one of the most hotly contested Strictly Come Dancing finals in the show’s history.

But for singer and actor Lee Mead it will be less about the dancing and more about the dames – when he misses his wife’s big moment in the ballroom to make his panto debut in Southampton instead.

Lee, who met Denise Van Outen, his wife of three-and-a-half years when he won BBC talent contest Any Dream Will Do in 2007, is playing the lead role in The Mayflower’s Jack and the Beanstalk, which opens today.

But unless he manages to get his hands on a TV for his dressing room he’s likely to miss her big night when she competes against Girls Aloud singer Kimberley Walsh, actress Dani Harmer and Olympian Louis Smith for the sought after glitterball with her dancing partner James Jordan.

Speaking to the Daily Echo, Lee said: “She’s made the final, which is brilliant, but I’m obviously not going to be able to go up and see the show, which is a real shame, but I’m glad Denise’s parents will be there to support her.

“I’ve been along two or three times, including the one at Wembley, and she’s been amazing.

“She’s very tired, she’s been doing 12 or 13 hour days, but she’s done brilliantly and has danced so well.”

He added: “Unfortunately she’s been in the dance off for two weeks running now and I think that comes down to early in the show when there was a bit of a debate about her being a professional dancer.

"Denise has never been a dancer, when she’s been a lead in West End shows she’s been cast as a singer and actress.

“But I’m so pleased she’s got to the final and now we’ll just see what happens. All her dancing, especially the tango, has been exceptional and I just hope she gets the public support she deserves.”

Chicago star Denise and the couple’s two and a half-year-old daughter Betsy will join Lee during Christmas week when the youngster will make her first visit to a theatre to see her daddy on stage.

Jack and the Beanstalk, which also stars Julian Clary and Nigel Havers, runs until Saturday, January 19.