Daily Mail - Daily Mail Weekend Magazine
A WHOLE NEW BALL GAME
Four fresh contestants, three new pro dancers, one burning ambition – to lift the Strictly glitterball. Here our quartet of celebrities tell Nicole Lampert the very personal reasons why they signed up
They’ve only been in the ‘Strictly bubble’ for a few weeks, but already they look like it’s taken over their lives. Strictly Come Dancing’s latest contestants are positively glowing today – and that’s not just because of the lashings of fake tan they’ve been applying. They have the widest smiles on their faces but there’s also a hint of deer-caught-in-the-headlights about them – none of them quite knows what lies ahead.
Yet the air is crackling with excitement as newsreader Kate Silverton, TV presenter Susannah Constantine, YouTube sensation Joe Sugg and former England cricketer Graeme Swann – known by their secret cheese codenames Stilton, Mozzarella, Feta and Gorgonzola until they were officially unveiled last month – lark around with glitterballs for Weekend’s photoshoot. The show’s three new professional dancers Graziano di Prima, Johannes Radebe and Luba Mushtuk are also here today and they’re similarly buzzing – they know this show is going to change their lives too. ‘It feels really liberating,’ says BBC news anchor Kate of her Strictly experience so far. ‘I keep joking to everyone that this is my teenage rebellion. I want wigs, I want feathers, I want glitter! There are very few shows that are as joyful and so beautifully produced as this.’ A serious journalist who cites reporting from the war zones of Iraq and Afghanistan as two of her career highs, Kate’s ready for a bit of mischief after seven years combining motherhood with working part-time.
‘I never thought I’d be a mother. I had a very low egg count, only one ovary, and had four rounds of IVF before I got married,’ she says. Now 48, Kate met her husband, former Royal Marine Mike Heron, when he gave her ‘hostile environment training’ before she went to report on the war in Iraq. ‘But then I got pregnant naturally at the age of 41, and again at 43. Two miracle babies. I’d waited a long time for these little people to come along so I’ve been more of a stay-at-home mother than anything else over the last few years.’
Her four-year- old son Wilbur has accompanied her today – and he thinks she looks ‘silly’ all glammed up. But with him about to start full-time nursery and his big sister Clemency, six, at school, Kate is thrilled to be given the chance to do something fun. ‘When you become a mum it’s all-consuming and everything is just about the children. So this is bringing out a side of me that’s been dormant for some time. I’m stepping out of my comfort zone. I can’t really dance but I do have a sense of rhythm and I see myself as a blank slate that can only get better.’
When we meet it’s just a few days after the Strictly red- carpet launch. Today Kate is blushing just thinking about the short red dress she wore that made the front pages. ‘I hadn’t worn a skirt that short since I was playing netball at school,’ she laughs. Another new experience has been being hoisted aloft by a strange man – with new dancer Graziano lifting her in rehearsals for the group dance in the opening show being broadcast tonight, where the 15 celebrities will learn which pro dancer they are paired with. The live competition starts on Saturday 22 September.
‘I’ve never been lifted by a man before,’ admits Kate, who’s a strapping 5ft 10in. ‘The whole time he was lifting me I was whispering, “I’m sorry, I’m so sorry” in his ear.’ Graziano, who’s 6ft 2in, is one of Kate’s preferred partners – only he and veteran Slovenian dancer Aljaz Skorjanec are taller than she will be in heels. And what an issue those heels have proved to be. As a size nine – even as a teenager she had to buy shoes from the men’s section of shoe shops – the regular Strictly shoes don’t fit her, so the show’s costume department have had to commission several pairs especially for her.
She’s already been pictured giving the Adonis-like Graziano a kiss goodbye, but she insists the infamous curse of Strictly will not strike her. ‘My amazing husband has no ego and is very composed, but when I said I’d been picked up by the Italian one there was a flicker in his eye that I liked,’ she grins. ‘Never mind the Strictly curse, I’m all about the marriage magic. Mike is really upping his game. I keep getting these texts saying, “You look real- ly hot babe.” He never normally uses that language. I love it.’
The curse must loom large in any contestant’s mind, with various long-term relationships – including those of Louise Redknapp, rugby player Ben Cohen and newsreader Natasha Kaplinsky – ending after appearances on the show. Former England cricketer Graeme Swann, 39, admits he asked his wife Sarah’s permission before appearing. ‘I’ve never been in a room with so many beautiful people – male and female – it’s ridiculous,’ he says. ‘I can see why people break up and run off with dancers. Sarah is great about it – she knows I can’t afford a divorce! But genuinely, if something like that is a concern then there are already mas- sive trust issues there and you shouldn’t even think about going on. I know the curse won’t be a problem for me. I love my wife and, anyway, all the dancers are way out of my league.’
Graeme is definitely going to be the joker of the pack, but his smile fades when he talks about one of the reasons he decided to enter. ‘My children – Wilfred, seven, Charlotte, five, and Jess, two – watch the show and I’ll take the chance to impress them any time I can, especially because the youngest never got to watch me play cricket. I want to be Superdad again.’
Graeme was forced to give up the
‘I’ve not worn a skirt this short since school netball’ KATE SILVERTON
sport he loved, con
troversially leaving the England team in the middle of a disastrous Ashes tour in 2013, because of an arm injury that still plagues him. A bone spur – an outgrowth on a bone – exploded in his elbow. Despite four operations to remove the splinters it left behind, two got stuck in the nerves and the impact is still painful five years on. ‘By the time I had to retire, I didn’t have much feeling left in my hand,’ he says. ‘I’d be bowling but had no control. Playing for England was all I’d dreamed, so it was incredibly painful to have that taken away.
‘There’s been a massive void in my life since I stopped playing and that’s why I’m looking forward to the excite- ment of the live shows. I’ve missed that buzz you get when you’ve done something really well and loads of people have watched you do it. There’s this instant rush of adrenaline. The endorphins explode into every fingertip. I’ve missed that like you wouldn’t believe.’
The arm injury means he’ll have to be careful when it comes to lifts. ‘If I hold something above my head for more than a second I’m in trouble,’ he says. ‘Recently I played a bit of cricket for a charity match and on the way home my arm got so stiff and painful I was convinced I was having a stroke.’
Like all good – and ultra-competitive – sportsmen, he comes to Strictly prepared. He’s lost two stone through cutting out carbs and alcohol, and running daily. And while he has no dancing experience, he reckons he has ‘a bit of South American in me’ as he took to the salsa the group did in rehearsals naturally. ‘Dancing makes you feel good,’ he says. ‘You feel alive. And with the Strictly gang it really is the most welcoming and inclusive environment I’ve ever been in. The dancers are stupidly good but no one’s looking down their noses at you; they’re embracing all the clodhoppers.’
Cricketers have traditionally done well on the show, with Darren Gough winning it in 2005 and Mark Ramprakash picking up the glitterball trophy a year later. Although there are plenty of contestants with far more dance experience in the competition, including pop stars Lee Ryan, Ashley Roberts and Faye Tozer, Graeme insists he’s in it to win it. ‘I’m a sportsman,’ he says. ‘I can’t enter anything without wanting to win. I don’t know if I have the capability to win, but I’ll certainly try.’
In contrast, style guru Susannah Constantine admits she’ll just be happy if she’s not voted off first. ‘I always said this is the one reality show I’d never do,’ says Susannah, 56, who appeared on I’m A Celebrity... Get Me Out If Here! three years ago. ‘I’m a terrible dancer. But I was persuaded because I’ve always had a heartfelt desire to learn how to dance. To be able to move beautifully is a real gift.’
Although she dated two of the world’s most eligible bachelors in the Queen’s nephew Lord Linley and cricketer turned politician Imran Khan, she says the only time she would dance in public was if she was drunk. ‘I did try and attempt a Scottish reel a few times, but even with that I’d get it
‘I love my wife and the dancers are way out of my league’ GRAEME SWANN
wrong and end up in a tangle.
I’ve found practising our group dance similar; I’m running from one spot to another with my hands in the air like I’m fleeing a burning house, not thinking about the steps.’
Although she’s meant to be writing her second novel, Strictly could not have come at a better time for mother-of- three Susannah, who’s regaining confidence after going through what she now thinks was depression brought on by the menopause. ‘I had slightly lost my way,’ she says. ‘I’d put on weight and was very self-conscious to the point that I’d turned into the kind of person Trinny and I used to help on our shows. My confidence had gone. I didn’t realise it then, but I was a bit depressed. I retreated into myself.’
Training for a tough assault course for Sport Relief at the beginning of the year has changed all that. She lost two stone and still eats healthily and runs regularly. She’s already had to have physiotherapy because her hip hurts from danci ng i n high heels, but she doesn’t care. ‘ I’m already mourning the end of this,’ she says. ‘I’d be gutted if I was the first voted out but I’m preparing myself for that. I don’t want it to end. Ever.
‘It’s weird. I still don’t feel at home dancing but I feel so at home with this group of people. It’s amazing how fear can bond people. We’ve become close very quickly. I feel like I could tell each and every one of these people my most intimate secret and trust them with it.’
One contestant who Susannah, the oldest of the female competitors, has developed a particular bond with is YouTuber Joe Sugg, the youngest of the men. ‘I love Susannah, she’s one of the funniest people on the show,’ says Joe. There was controversy when the video blogger, who’s 27 today, was announced as a contestant because most people over the age of 40 have never heard of him – unless their children are fans. A former roof thatcher, he makes a living out of posting videos, mainly of pranks and impressions, on YouTube where he gets paid depending on how many times they’re viewed. Along with his sister Zoe, also known as Zoella, he’s YouTube royalty with more than 8 million subscribers to his channel.
He’ll be keeping his fans updated on his Strictly experience, and brings with him a huge audience of teenagers who traditionally turn off mainstream TV in favour of YouTube. ‘The majority of Strictly fans will have no idea who I am,’ he says. ‘I have a lot of parents come up to me saying, “I have no idea who you are but my daughter loves you.”’ With his film star good looks, Joe is single and hasn’t ruled out looking for love on the show. ‘At the moment I feel like everybody’s little brother,’ he says. ‘But you never know.’ He’s astonished popstars he admired, such as Blue’s Lee Ryan and Faye Tozer from Steps, are now his contemporaries and also his friends. ‘At first it felt like starting a new school and I struggled to come out of my shell,’ he says. ‘When we went for lunch on the first day of rehearsals I didn’t know where to sit, but they beckoned me over. It’s a cliché but we already feel like a close family – both the contestants and the pros.’ He isn’t the only relative unknown
about to find himself a household name. Three new dancers are joining the show. South African Johannes Radebe grew up in a township just outside of Johannesburg. He fell in love with ballroom when a dance school opened nearby and friends helped fund his way through competitions and college. He’s taken two contestants to the final of the South African version of the show, and those who’ve seen him in action claim we’ll all be mesmerised by what he does with his hips when he appears in the wider group of dancers – those without a celebrity partner – alongside stunning Russian dancer Luba Mushtuk, who has been working behind the scenes of the show for two years. The only one of the newcomers with a celebrity partner this year is Italian Graziano di Prima. The 24year-old, who will set hearts racing (although he has a dancer girlfriend who’s as beautiful as him), started dancing at the age of six when his mother noticed he loved to perform in front of the television. He was spotted by producers while appearing in stage show Burn The Floor – in which Johannes also starred – and is pinching himself that he’s about to appear on the biggest show on British television. ‘At the launch, I couldn’t breathe, I was scared and excited,’ he says. ‘For a moment I was frozen to the spot as I took it all in. I can’t wait to get started. Being in Strictly is a dream.’ Whether they are all as happy once weeks of training and the odd battering from judge Craig Revel Horwood kick in, it’s hard to say. But audiences have something genuinely happy to look forward to. ‘There’s something so joyous about Strictly,’ says Susannah, as her fellow contestants nod in unison. ‘When you watch it, you just feel that for now all is right with the world.’
Strictly Come Dancing starts tonight at 7.35pm on BBC1. The live shows start on Saturday 22 September.
‘It’s amazing how fear can bond people’ SUSANNAH CONSTANTINE