Bill hopes win will get ‘dad dancers’ on the floor
BILL BAILEY has said he hopes his Strictly Come Dancing victory will inspire more men his age to consider taking up dancing.
The comedian was crowned winner of the celebrity competition on Saturday alongside professional partner Oti Mabuse.
More than 1 million viewers tuned in to watch the 55-year-old see off competition from Hrvy, Maisie Smith and Jamie Laing in the final of the BBC programme.
But Bill said many men are shy about showing off their own moves.
During an interview on ITV’s Lorraine with Ranvir Singh, who reached the semi-final of the latest series herself, he said: ‘I think a lot of blokes of my vintage do feel selfconscious on the dance floor.
‘I think we are always aware of that term “Dad dancers” and that makes people nervous, and they think “Oh, I don’t want to be that guy shuffling around at the end of the night”. My hope is that me having this success will mean that more men of my age might even consider taking up a dance class, or maybe just getting fitter.’
Bailey said he is still in a ‘daze’ following his victory, adding: ‘I feel a little bit stiff of leg and arm but otherwise great.’ He said the win would have been his mother’s ‘proudest moment’ if she was still alive, because she loved dancing.
And he paid tribute to Mabuse, calling her ‘the most extraordinary teacher and the most extraordinary dancer’. He added: ‘She believed in me right from the very beginning and she found something in me, turned me into this, into a dancer.’