Saffron: “The hardest part of self-isolating is not being able to see my nan!”
YouTube sensation and Strictly star Saffron Barker tells Closer how the dance show changed her life and how she’s handling the strain of missing her loved ones
She made her name as a social media star, garnering millions of fans on her YouTube channel, before finding mainstream fame on the latest series of Strictly. At the time, Saffron, 19, revealed that taking part in the show – and getting through to week nine with dance partner AJ Pritchard – had fulfilled her elderly grandmother
Ivy’s dream, revealing her nan had never missed an episode of Strictly. The pair have a close bond – with Ivy even appearing in Saffron’s videos – and the star admits the hardest part of the recent lockdown is being apart from her beloved nan and grandad, with the public advised to avoid all contact with elderly relatives to minimise risk of catching the virus.
A NEW FAN BASE
She says, “I’m lucky I can work from home and that I live with my immediate family. But I’m extremely close to my nan and I usually see her every day, so that’s the hardest part in all this.
“I’ve been FaceTiming her and my grandad daily. We’ll have a catch-up and talk about what we’ve been up to and how we’ve spent the day. As hard as it is, there’s no way I’d go and see her. It’s just not worth the risk – I want her to be safe during this time.”
While she had millions of YouTube subscribers and followers before she joined Strictly, Saffron’s main fans were aged
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between 16 and 24 – so joining the hit BBC show catapulted her into mainstream fame and she says she’s still close to her co-stars, including Catherine Tyldesley, Kelvin Fletcher and Emma Barton.
She says, “I loved Strictly so much. We’re all still so close – we still speak on our Strictly WhatsApp group every single day, months after the show ended. I talk to AJ all the time, too. During and after the show, it was so lovely having older people approach me in the street – before, it was only younger people who knew who I was. I felt really lucky I didn’t get much negativity, too – luckily, most of the comments were positive. Any negative ones I just ignore and block.”
While starring on the hit dance show, rumours swirled that Saffron and partner
AJ, 25 – who announced last week he’s leaving Strictly after four years to pursue a career in presenting, alongside his brother Curtis – were an item, after years of stars succumbing to the so-called
“Strictly curse”. But while she’s really close to AJ, she insists they’re just friends and she’s “completely single”. She laughs, “I’m not missing anyone during this isolation time because I’m totally single! And there are times where I like being single, as I’m always so busy. But also I’m at the point where I really would like to meet someone – I want to find love by the end of the year.”
WAITING FOR MR RIGHT
Saffron adds, “It’ll be hard to meet someone when we’re all in self-isolation! And I don’t use dating apps, because my accounts get shut down – they assume someone has taken my photos off the internet and is using them! Also, it’s hard to meet someone, with me doing what I do. Either they don’t want to deal with the spotlight, or they’re only with me to get the online followers. It’s hard to know what people’s true intentions are.”
But Saffron adds that, deep down, one of her biggest goals is to settle down with a family of her own, as well as continuing to climb the career ladder. Referring to the coronavirus crisis, she says, “The short-term
future doesn’t look too exciting with all that’s going on right now. Although I have just become an ambassador for skincare range Bioré, which is exciting and, luckily, I can still work with them while being at home, working on projects and sharing my favourite products of theirs on Instagram. But in the long-term, I’ve got lots of goals. Now that I’ve branched out from vlogging to dancing, I’d love to do a West End show or some acting gigs. I also definitely want marriage and kids one day – I’ve just got to wait for my Mr Right to come along!”
‘I want to find love by the end of the year’