SAFFRON SPILLS THE STRICTLY GOSS
The social media star is determined to win
Saffron Barker has some difficult dancing shoes to fill, following in the footsteps of fellow Youtuber (and 2018 finalist) Joe Sugg on Strictly Come Dancing, but the 19 year old is already proving to be a real contender. Here, she tells heat about living out her nan’s dream and her unexpected friendship with Anneka Rice… You said before that it was your nan’s dream for you to be on Strictly. Is she loving it? She’s loving every single minute of it. The song I chose [last week] was for my nan. She’s watched the show for years, she loves the show and she loves me. So, [last weekend] was an absolute dream for her. Who have you become close to within the Strictly family? I’ve actually become close to everybody. I did become really close to Anneka, so it was really sad to see her go. She was like the mother of the group. She has the biggest heart, she’s so sweet and lovely. We both really shared a passion for how much we love the show. Does it get annoying being asked about romance between you and AJ? No, I don’t think it gets annoying. I think it’s expected – we’re both young, it happens every year. But we are just such good friends. We’re not that bothered by it. I’m honestly going to be friends with him forever.
We’ve heard AJ is precious about his hair – which of you looks in the mirror the most? He loves his hair! AJ looks in the
mirror more – and he would hands-down admit it. [Laughs.] He’s been trying to do it less! What would it mean to win Strictly? I couldn’t even explain to you how it would make me feel – not only for me, I’d love to do well for AJ. Every year, he’s got to the semi-finals, so for him, it’s his dream to get to the final. If I could do that, it would be not only amazing for me and my family – and everybody else and the people who follow me – but I would love to do it for AJ. ■
‘It’s AJ’S dream to get to the final this year’