Daily Mirror (Northern Ireland)
STRICTLY STAR TOM ON HIS FIRST & TRUE LOVE Mcflyare great.. but musicals made me
THEY packed a punch with their Paso Doble and wowed with their Viennese waltz, but tonight’s Musicals special is the one Tom Fletcher and Amy Dowden have been aiming for on Strictly Come Dancing.
As he prepares to perform a Couple’s Choice routine to one of the West End’s best-loved hits, Tom reveals that without theatre, his life might never have panned out the way it has.
The Mcfly star, who met wife Giovanna at the Sylvia Young Theatre School when the pair were just 13, says: “I grew up in musical theatre. It was my whole childhood.
“If it wasn’t for musical theatre, I wouldn’t have met my wife, Mcfly wouldn’t exist… none of it would have happened.
“At school, I didn’t see myself being in a band. The band just kind of happened.
“Eighteen years have gone by in the blink of an eye, but I still love musical theatre. It’s a huge part of my life.”
Rocker’s proud tribute in his Couple’s Choice dance with Amy tonight
IMPACT
Tom’s early experience of the West End was about as big as it gets, starring as Oliver at the London Palladium for three years from the age of nine.
He says: “It was a massive part of my childhood. It made such an impact on me as my first real introduction to being on stage. It was an amazing experience.”
And there is another layer of significance for Tom and his pro partner Amy tonight as they dance to On My Own from Les Miserables.
Front and centre of Tom’s mind will be his sister, West End leading lady Carrie Hope Fletcher, who is currently starring as Cinderella in Andrew Lloyd Webber’s lavish take on the fairy tale.
Tom, 36, says: “History basically repeated itself with my sister. She’s seven years younger than me, but she ended up on stage at the Palladium at around the same age I did, although she’s a lot better than me.
“The first time she was on stage she was just seven, playing Eponine in Les Mis, and she went on to play Eponine the adult, singing the song that we’re dancing to this weekend.
“When we’re performing this dance to On My Own – which, for me, is her song – she’ll be on stage in the West End in an actual musical.
“I really hope that, even without her being there to see it, I can show her how proud we all are.”
Tom is keeping schtum about exactly what to expect in tonight’s performance, but one person who gets the inside track is his novelist and influencer wife Giovanna, 36, who was crowned Queen of the Castle in last year’s I’m A Celebrity...get Me Out of Here!.
Tom, who has sons Buzz, seven, Buddy, five, and three-year-old Max with Giovanna, says: “She’s a brilliant support, we’re there for each other through everything.
“She’s rehearsing for a new play, 2:22 A Ghost Story, which opens in a few weeks, so at night
I’m doing script
reads with her and on a Saturday morning she’s doing my dances with me.
“Strictly is a real family experience. Amy brought them all dance shoes, so all of us have loved it.” Dancer Amy, 31, who joined Tom on tour with Mcfly ahead of the series launch, has loved being part of the Fletcher clan. “It’s been amazing,” says the star, who along with Tom missed week two of the competition when the pair caught Covid. “It was quite surreal at the beginning
because I was just chucked into the mix while Tom was on tour with Mcfly, but it’s been such a good experience.
“I’ve been welcomed so warmly by Giovanna and the kids. I love that they all seem to have fallen in love with dancing.”
Tom – who is preparing for a one-off Mcfly gig at London’s O2 tomorrow – has not given up hope of lifting the Glitterball.
Mcfly drummer Harry Judd, 35, won Strictly 10 years ago – the year bandmate Dougie Poynter, 33, won I’m a Celebrity.
Tom says: “I seem to be surrounded by people who are really good at winning reality shows. I’m just loving being in the special Strictly bubble. I love training with Amy and learning to dance every day. I
don’t want the experience to end.” For Amy, from Caerphilly in Wales, the show is a huge part of her life.
“I live and breathe Strictly,” she says. “I remember watching it as a teenager and looking up to all the professionals.
“I love that I’m a part of it and I’m so happy Tom has enjoyed his experience. It’s amazing we’ve made it to this point, which has been Tom’s goal right from the start.”
As the competition hits week nine, Tom believes he’s in the best shape of his life – but doesn’t anticipate working so hard to keep his six-pack once the series ends. “As soon as I’m out of Strictly, that’s it,” he says. “I’m eating all the food.”
Tom reveals his love of musicals began when he saw Jason Donovan in Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat. “That’s what set me off on this whole path,” he says. “I was hooked.
“I was nearly cast as Marius in Les Mis myself 10 years ago, but I couldn’t commit for the full run. I’ve always wanted to play Marius, but I’m too old now. Although I’m not too old on
Strictly, the place where dreams come true!”
claire.oboyle@mirror.co.uk