STRICTLY WINNER JOE: I NEED A NEW JOB
‘I’m very optimistic. It would be a shame to let all that dancing go’
STRICTLY Come Dancing winner Joe McFadden now has his sights set on a starring role in the West End.
The actor became the oldest winner in the show’s history when he lifted the now famous glitterball trophy at the age of 42 on Saturday night.
Earlier this month his Holby City character Raf di Lucca was dramatically killed off, leaving him out of work and wondering what was next.
But the newly-crowned champion who starred in the musical Rent in 1998 is said to favour a return to the stage.
Joking that he was unemployed and facing the prospect of a trip to the job centre the single Glaswegian said: “I’m optimistic about the future. Things are looking up.”
And when the idea of a West End role was mentioned, he added: “It would be lovely to put all the dancing into practice, it would be a shame to let all of that go.”
A peak audience of 13.1million viewers – the biggest of the series – saw Joe and his Russian dance partner Katya Jones, 28, storm to victory in one of the closest ever finals.
They beat fellow finalists Alexandra Burke, 29, Debbie McGee, 59, and Gemma Atkinson, 33, in a contest decided entirely by public vote.
Bookmakers were convinced widowed former magician’s assistant Debbie, wife of the late conjurer Paul Daniels, would cap a fairytale series and personal renaissance by clinching the title, but in the end Joe and Katya’s mesmerising routines saw them over the line.
He is now set to pocket £100,000 for his win but is in line for a much bigger pay cheque as West End producers queue up.
The pair’s three almost faultless performances – a Viennese waltz, a Cinderella-themed show dance and a Christmas-inspired Charleston in which the pair dressed as little drummer boys – saw them score 118 points from a possible 120 from the judges, whose critiques were for guidance only.
Katya partnered Joe to victory in just her second series and a year after she was paired with Ed Balls, choreographing the ex-politician’s Gangnam-style routine.
Watched by presenters Claudia Winkleman and Tess Daly, Joe screamed “Oh my goodness”, as he and Katya were announced as winners.
He added: “It feels utterly, utterly amazing and I really can’t find the words. The whole experience has been brilliant.
“The routines have consistently been brilliant and Katya is such an amazing artist and dancer and just being in the training room every day was such a joy.
“I mean, it was hard work, but it was a joy and I wouldn’t have had it any other way. No one said it was going to be easy.
“I’m feeling really good and looking forward to having a really good rest over Christmas. I’m going to lie in a dark room for about a week and sleep.”
Katya thinks Joe has a future as a live performer, adding: “He has so much potential. Give me more time with him and he’ll become a pro.”
Yesterday finalist Gemma paid tribute to her “perfect” dance partner Aljaz Skorjanec, and congratulated Joe.
She posted a note on Instagram that “happiness is finding the perfect dance partner”, adding “and that I did”.
Sending her congratulations to “amazing” Joe and Katya Jones, she wrote: “What an incredible night we had.”
Gemma added: “Aljaz was so patient and so kind and so funny every single day.
“I cannot thank you enough for keeping my chin up and supporting me through this, not just as my colleague, but as my friend. Fun memories that will last a lifetime.”
Joe is the oldest winner since Strictly started in 2004 – four years older than the previous oldest contestant Chris Hollins in 2009 – and the third man in a row to lift the glitterball after Ore Oduba, 32, last year and Jay McGuiness, 27, in 2015.
Meanwhile, evidence of the “curse of Strictly” was clearly on show on Saturday with professional dancers Kevin and Karen Clifton, whose marriage is thought to be in trouble, keeping their distance during the evening. Karen, 35, opted to dance with colleague Pasha Kovalev, 37, instead of her husband during a performance by singer Ed Sheeran.