I HOPE TO INSPIRE
BILL’S BIG DREAM
BILL Bailey has said he hopes his Strictly Come Dancing victory will inspire more men his age to consider taking up dancing.
The Keynsham-raised comedian was crowned winner of the celebrity competition on Saturday alongside professional partner Oti Mabuse.
More than 13 million viewers tuned in to watch Bailey see off competition from HRVY, Maisie Smith and Jamie Laing in the final of the BBC programme.
During an interview on ITV’s Lorraine with Ranvir Singh, who reached the semi-final of the latest series herself, Bailey said men can be shy about dancing.
The 55-year-old said: “I think a lot of blokes of my vintage do feel self-conscious on the dance floor.
“I think we are always aware of that term ‘Dad dancers’ and I think that makes people feel a bit nervous and ‘Oh, I don’t want to be that guy shuffling around at the end of the night’.
“My hope is that me having this success will mean that more men of my age might even consider maybe taking up a dance class, or maybe just getting fitter, or whatever.”
Bailey said he was in a “daze” following his victory.
“I feel a little bit stiff of leg and arm but otherwise great,” he added.
He also said that watching his victory would have been his mother’s “proudest moment” if she was still alive because she loved dancing.
Bailey has also revealed he ‘nearly set fire to the studio’ in a chaotic moment that viewers didn’t see on Saturday night.
He explained: “There was prerecorded section when we did a walk down at the start of the show. It was the ‘here at the Strictly finalists’ Bill, HRVY, Maisie, Jamie’ bit.
“Jamie and I were on one side and Maisie and HRVY on the other and we had a count in and then we had to walk down.
“Of course we missed it, I was like ‘is that it?!’” He added: “A stage manager said I’ll count you in as I said that’s fine then. And then the stage manager said ‘you do know the count then and me and Jamie were like ‘yes, yes, between the two of us we can count to 8.
“Just as I said that I kicked over one of the pyrotechnic boxes, tripped over that, nearly fell down the stairs. We can’t be left alone for a second!
“I just thought that would be a great way to start the show – Bill Bailey has ignited his own trousers, firework goes off, I fall over, set fire to the studio.”
As well as Bill setting a record for being Strictly’s oldest winner, Oti herself earned a huge first, being the first pro to win the show two years in a row, following her triumph with Kelvin Fletcher last year.
After being announced as the winner on Saturday, Bailey paid tribute to Mabuse, whom he called “the most extraordinary teacher, the most extraordinary dancer”.
She “believed in me right from the beginning and she found something in me, turned me into this, into a dancer”, he added.