‘I would be anxious if Ben did Strictly now’
VANESSA:
She grew close to dance partner James Jordan while competing on Strictly in 2013, but in light of the curse returning, Vanessa Feltz tells Closer that she would now feel “anxious” if partner Ben Ofoedu, 46 – who found fame in ’90s duo Phats & Small – took part in the BBC dance show. She says, “In truth, I would be anxious and worried. And I’d definitely be turning up to training on a regular basis if Ben did Strictly. I would make sure that my presence was a factor and that it’d be hard for him to sideline me.”
Vanessa, 56, acknowledges that there were plenty of saucy “whispers” going on backstage when she appeared on the show, with Rachel Riley leaving husband Jamie Gilbert after
falling for dance partner Pasha Kovalev, and Ben Cohen splitting from wife Abby Cohen to start a relationship later with his pro dancer Kristina Rihanoff.
“I hope Ben wouldn’t stray but, my God, the year I did Strictly, Rachel copped off with Pasha, and Ben Cohen ended up meeting Kristina. That’s just my class of 2013,” she says. “If you’d ask them at the beginning of the show, ‘Are you up for an affair?’ I think they would’ve said, ‘Absolutely not.’ I suppose the spell then descends and it’s too intoxicating.”
She continues, “Strictly is very seductive. When else are you going to be in the arms of a good-looking stranger every day?”
The TV host went on to admit that she briefly fell for dance partner James, who is married to fellow former pro Ola Jordan, during her stint on the show.
“For about three days, I did think, ‘James Jordan, I love you,’” she explains. “It can feel as though it’s just the two of you against the world. Your partner at home won’t understand what you’re going through, and the show becomes so massive you can’t even remember their name!”