Tiniest twins home in time for Christmas
Viewers were gobsmacked at how easily she glided across the Strictly dancefloor. And she was the first contestant to score a perfect 40 this series, thanks to her tango with partner Giovanni Pernice, 27. But it was her flexibility as much as her footwork that left the judges in awe. Bruno Tonioli described her as “very, very, very, bendy” and said she danced like a 20-year-old. So how does she do it? It’s no secret that the magician’s assistant was a ballet dancer in her teens and early 20s, but Debbie insists her ability to do splits and leg lifts now is actually thanks to a careful blend of yoga and Pilates. “I don’t think my ballet training has helped me on Strictly, it’s my yoga,” she says. Debbie, who prefers classes over gym workouts, says she stretches her muscles several times a week with Ashtanga yoga, which focuses on holding postures rather
than flowing movements. She says: “I’ve always been fit and do an 8am Ashtanga yoga or Pilates class at my local gym three or four times a week,” she said. “It keeps you supple and strong and maintains your core.” When she’s not stretching and toning at her classes, Debbie says she’s never been one for the gym, and prefers the great outdoors for a spot of exercise – preferably gardening or cycling. She says: “I’ve never been a gym girl. I did go to the gym for a couple of years and it’s the only time I ever got injured. “Instead, I walk or cycle for 15 minutes every morning. And I have an indoor exercise bike if the weather’s bad.” Joelle Pettitt, 33, has been teaching Ashtanga yoga to Debbie for a year in Maidenhead, Berkshire. She agrees that yoga is something many people can try and says the downward dog is best for improving flexibility. She says: “It builds both strength and flexibility, and helps to lengthen the back, hamstrings and calves, whilst strengthening upper body and core.” TIME TO SPLIT Impressive moves with partner Giovanni Debbie has become famous for her Barbie doll do, either wearing her ash-blonde hair up in a messy bun or loose around her shoulders.
She perfected the manicured look as her husband’s assistant on the Paul Daniels Magic Show, and hasn’t ever let that image drop.
She even made sure her hair looked perfect every day when she was nursing him at home in his final weeks. In a moving interview after Paul died of a brain tumour aged 77 in March last year, Debbie told how important it was to her to look beautiful for him in his final days.
She said: “I smiled, I put my make-up on and did my
POLISHED With Paul, 2015 hair every day.” On Strictly, she was groomed to perfection – always bronzed and made up with lashings of bright lipstick and jet-black mascara. A natural brunette, she has been dyeing her hair blonde since the 90s, and she styles it with rollers. And she is no stranger to using fake tan, always looking bronzed and glowing – although she did have a bit of a make-up mishap before appearing at the Blackpool Tower ballroom special, where she was caught with fake tan stains on the palms of her hands. Debbie believes the way to look your best is to find a style that suits who you are as a person. She says of her famous bleached-blonde hairdo: “I know it looks a bit Barbie doll-ish, but it suits my personality. And, if I want to be more elegant, I put it up.” THRIVING Isla, left, & Ava