Debbie: Paul is with me, giving me confidence
DEBBIE Mcgee says late husband Paul Daniels is always with her in the studio.
The Strictly star, 59, said: “I feel he is with me. When I walk down that studio floor, there is always a moment I think of him. He had so much confidence.
“I kind of say, ‘Come on, darling, give me some of your confidence’. And it takes away my nerves.”
Although through to the final, she said the magician, who died from brain cancer in 2016 at 77, would not have let her rest on her laurels.
She said: “He would always have wanted me to do better than I was doing. I could imagine, if Paul was alive and watching me every week, he would give me notes. There is no doubt about that – he would find something.”
But Debbie insisted: “He would love it. He would absolutely love it.”
She said her hectic schedule, juggling training with panto rehearsals, had made life tricky. But she is looking forward to Christmas – although with only one day off.
She said: “I’ve only got Christmas Day Debbie & off. It’s quite partner Giovanni normal in panto. I had the same last year. Christmas Day will be with the family in Surrey at some point or other, with my younger sister Donna and her family and my mum and possibly my brother and his family.”
As well as Strictly putting Debbie in the spotlight again, the show has made a star of her mother too.
She said: “My mum’s called Babs Mcgee. Everyone has started to love her. She was trending on Twitter the other day, which is fantastic. She’s 80.”
Former judge Len Goodman has said the title is anyone’s for the taking – and asked what she wants for Christmas, Debbie said she is looking for just one item. “I’d like the Strictly Glitterball in my stocking. It’s the only thing I want.”
She added: “Every week I can’t believe I’m still in it – and here we are. It just seems unreal and everyone’s just been so lovely.”