Brendan & Charlotte: It takes two to tango
After a short but sweet three weeks together on Strictly, Brendan Cole and Charlotte Hawkins tell best how much they’ve missed competing, their plans for Christmas – and how they’ll keep dancing…
They waltzed out of this year’s Strictly all too soon, but Good Morning Britain’s Charlotte Hawkins and our columnist Brendan Cole
– a pro since it began in 2004 – talk exclusively to best about why they had such a ball on the show, the Strictly Christmas special, and the festive, sparkly, booze-filled celebrations that come with it.
‘I’ll do a dance on Christmas Day in Brendan’s honour!’ Charlotte confesses, as Brendan jokes that they might even try bungee jumping together in his native New Zealand… Hi, you two! So, Strictly – what did it mean for you? C: I loved every minute, even though it finished too early! I’m really lucky to have danced with Brendan and I’m absolutely thrilled we were partnered together. B: It’s not often that the girls say that! C: Ha ha! I knew it was going to be hard work physically, but it was just such a buzz. Such a high. B: We actually had a ball from start to finish. It’s not often you can say that on Strictly.
Brendan, you’ve said that this year was particularly special… B:
Yes, because the people involved made it so. It was a great group, and we went to work every day and had a great time, from when we went into rehearsal until we left. And even afterwards, messaging and laughing about different moments… That’s the key to a successful Strictly – when you have
that camaraderie and it comes across on screen, too.
You knew each other before being on the show, didn’t you? C:
Yes, and it was nice that we were already friends. It actually makes me a bit sad talking about Strictly! But beforehand, as a person, I was very much like, ‘This is my personal space,’ but I think the experience has changed me, so I was really glad that I got Brendan. I’m a lot more tactile now!
And you seemed so disappointed, Brendan... B:
Mega-disappointed. I figured we’d go roughly halfway – hopefully further. I always have a feeling of how far we’ll go, and generally I’m right, so to get this wrong was disappointing. And we were enjoying it so much.
Charlotte, has this started a love affair with dance for you? C:
Absolutely. But once you’ve danced with Brendan, it’s difficult to go down to your local village hall and do ballroom dancing, isn’t it? Unless I can just carry on dancing with you, Brendan!
You’ll be dancing together in the final this weekend, though… C:
Yes, and I’m really looking forward to that. I’d love to do something amazing.
B: Yes, it will be great to be reunited briefly on that dance floor.
Charlotte, were you pleased with how supportive your GMB colleagues were? C:
Absolutely! They all were – even Piers [Morgan], in his own way! He totally had my back, tweeting his 6 million followers asking them to vote. But then when I got voted off, he said, ‘Oh, maybe I should have asked them not to!’ Maybe it’s all Piers’ fault!
What have you got planned for Christmas?
C: I get so excited by the magic of it all. My daughter, Ella Rose, is two-and-a-half,
and she loves it, especially opening her stocking in bed. We love hosting, so everybody comes to ours. I’ll be doing a little dance around the Christmas tree in Brendan’s honour – just not the foxtrot!
B: It’s my daughter Aurelia’s birthday on Christmas Day – she’ll be five. So we start off with Christmas presents, then birthday. It’s presents galore! It’s just me, my wife, Zoe, and our little girl. I haven’t been back to New Zealand for Christmas since I’ve been in Britain, 22 years now – it’s quite sad. I’m desperate to do that. But Strictly finishes just before Christmas, then I’m straight into the tour of my show, All Night Long.
How do you cope with being a parent and having a busy career? C:
Becoming a mum was quite overwhelming. I’ve had to become really organised, because I get up at 3am for GMB! I come back whenever I can and look after Ella Rose in the afternoon. You just make use of every spare minute. It was even more of a job during Strictly, but then she loved that. We dance together at home.
Brendan, your lovely wife Zoe is pregnant – are you ready to be a dad again? B:
No! Life’s definitely going to change. We’ve been wanting a second child for a long time so it’s lovely, but it’s strange when your daughter has started going to school. You’re getting your life back and, suddenly, it’ll be back to nappies and sleepless nights!
Charlotte, any GMB Christmas parties planned?
C: We have loads of festive events in the diary. It’s tricky balancing sleep and doing the news the next morning! And it’s always nice to spend time with my GMB lot. If we go out together and it’s not a work day the next day, we really let our hair down.
Brendan, are you hitting the town with the Strictly gang? B:
There will always be a party, or several! It’s usually quite alcohol-fuelled and not a lot of sleep is had. But these days I’m not one that hits the town much – it’s harder when you have children! Before marriage and kids, I had a four-year run of being single and, yes, there were a lot of late nights.
Do you have any New Year’s resolutions? C:
I’d like to carry on dancing. And, after pushing myself in a different way for Strictly, I need another challenge. B: I think we should go bungee jumping in New Zealand, Charlotte. Let’s go!