Let’s hear it for the boy
STRICTLY COME DANCING’S GRAZIANO DI PRIMA TELLS MARION MCMULLEN HE CANNOT WAIT TO FINALLY MARRY THE LOVE OF HIS LIFE
You proposed to your fiancée and fellow dancer Giada Lini on stage during the Burn the Floor show, but the pandemic meant wedding plans have been postponed for two years. Are you now looking forward to the big day?
I will love my wedding. I will be home in Sicily with my family and friends celebrating together the most important moment of my life, the most life-changing, when I get to marry the love of my life.
When they asked me to come back for the tour of Here Come The Boys I said: “There’s a little problem. I’m getting married in July and the wedding is in Sicily and I can’t do it – plus a lot of the cast are also coming to the wedding.”
But they said: “We love you, we know how much you love the show, and we are going to make it work.”
So now it is all happening and it is going to be beautiful.
You are touring with Nadiya Bychkova, Nikita Kuzmin, Pasha Kovalev and Strictly finalist Karim Zeroual. What makes the show so special?
I really love performing and Here Come The Boys is something special. We were the first show back in the West End last year and were at the London Palladium.
Being able to perform in front of an audience again after such a big gap made me realise how much I love it.
The reaction we received last summer was very special.
We are all really passionate about the show and we can express ourselves in our own way through dance. It’s real energy.
After the show I am knackered. I push myself to my limit.
What impact did joining Strictly Come Dancing have on your life?
I was a young boy from a town in Sicily and I was bullied at school growing up because I loved dancing and I had long hair.
Strictly was everything I had dreamed of. It was life-changing.
When they called me, I couldn’t believe it. It felt like I had been waiting for this all my life.
We were lucky to still be able to do Strictly during the pandemic by being in a bubble with our dance partners.
We all really love the show and we wanted to find a way to make it work.
What do you look for in a celebrity partner?
My celebrity Strictly dance partner Judi Love is the most amazing person and the most funny.
She is hilarious and a good friend. She phoned me after the
Bafta Awards saying: “Why weren’t you here?” and I had to explain I was on tour.
We became friends on Strictly and I love her so much. She’s a star and she’s coming to the wedding as well.
I believe anyone can dance, dancing is a form of expression and everyone is different and learns differently.
As long as someone is prepared to work hard with me, we can build a friendship and start from there.
What was it like making Strictly history by taking part in the show’s first individual same-sex dance with Johannes Radebe to Emeli Sande’s song Shine?
He is a good friend and we have always danced together.
It felt so easy and normal doing it on the show but we did not expect all the positive responses. It was beautiful.
[Laughs] I also became a Guinness World Record holder for the most botafogo steps in 2019 [90 steps in 30 seconds] on It Takes Two [the Strictly spin-off show].
For us as professionals it was a little fun, but we are also competitive as well, so I went all out.
How did you celebrate your 28th birthday earlier this month while on tour with Strictly Come Dancing: The Professionals?
The biggest party EVER. I really had a good time and they surprised me after the show with food and a cake and everyone was singing happy birthday. My friends picked me up and carried me on their shoulders in front of everyone. It was a beautiful moment, a really good time.
It’s my first tour back with the guys and I’m loving it. Having my birthday in between has been really big for me.
Will you have time for a break this year?
When I finish Strictly: The Professionals tour, I start Here Come The Boys. It’s tough, but I am just going to go with the flow.
The audiences we get cover every age, every generation, and everyone is welcome to come along and join us for some fun.
My next break, I think, is in December, apart from the wedding, but working and dancing for me is everything. I love it.
■ Here Come The Boys tours from June 15. Tickets are on sale now. Visit herecometheboysshow.com for further details