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UP (VERY) CLOSE AND PERSONAL
Strictly’s Saffron Barker, James Cracknell, Viscountess Weymouth and Catherine Tyldesley share their hilarious tales of intimate clinches, mind- boggling routines ...and lashings of fake tan
Most relationships begin slowly with a bit of a chat, a coffee, even a nice lunch before the serious limbs- entwining stuff begins. Not on Planet Strictly. Here the newly paired-up partners are up close and personal – eye-wateringly so – before they’ve even established who takes sugar in their latte.
This year’s batch of newbies seem quite shocked by how quickly they have to say goodbye to their own physical space. Boundaries? On Strictly there are none. ‘As an actor I’m used to doing intimate scenes, and being in someone else’s space, but even I was a bit, “Woooahhh!”’ admits former Coronation Street star Catherine Tyldesley, 36, who’s spent much of the morning in her professional partner’s armpit, and is prepared to be candid about it.
Actually, the poor love seems a bit shell-shocked. ‘It’s quite a shock. With my very first dance – the group dance before we’d even been matched with our professional partners – I was thinking, “Wow! This is close!” And it was a waltz! For those who aren’t actors, it must be really hard.’
So what happened in the first proper training session with her professional partner, South African dancer Johannes Radebe? They got even closer, it seems, according to Catherine, who can currently be seen playing hairdresser Karen in BBC1 comedy Scarborough. Her description sounds rather like hurling yourself onto a speeding train and hanging on for grim death. ‘It’s designed like that. When Johannes tilts his body in a certain way, I have to go with it. It’s like muscle memory. You have no option. And right from the off he’s telling me, “Look, your hand is here,”’ she says, gesturing to his imaginary torso. ‘“This is how we communicate. All the communication is physical.” It’s all pretty fast too. There’s no breaking you in gently.’
This year’s youngest contestant, Saffron Barker, is complaining that her training session today has left her feeling queasy. Too much armpit proximity here, too? No, she says that being hurled around the dancefloor by her partner, AJ Pritchard, has left her on the verge of vomiting – not the glamourous debut she was anticipating. ‘I wasn’t prepared for that. Is it normal?’ she asks.
But there are some fast learners in the ranks. In front of the camera for our photoshoot, things are getting a little racy. Emma Thynn, Viscountess Weymouth, former model and chatelaine of Longleat House, has just thrown her leg across double Olympic gold medal-winning rower James Cracknell, but midhurl is wondering if the action (effortless, so she’s one to watch) is entirely appropriate. This is what happens when you’re in Strictly. All normal rules of social etiquette are in f lux. Not that James is complaining. ‘I don’t mind,’ he grins as he holds her leg aloft (alas, he could be holding a leg of lamb, so we think James might need to work on his technique).
How’s he finding getting up close and personal with his pro? James’s partner is the Russian Luba Mushtuk. Although she was in the Strictly cast last year, this is the first year she’s had a celeb partner. She sounds as terrifying as she is beautiful.
Talk again turns to how, if there isn’t natural chemistry between partners, then it must be faked. How hard is this when you’re not an actor? James looks pained, but then smiles. ‘ Well, there are worse people to have to fake it wi th, aren’t there?’
It’s always a blast catching up with new Strictly contestants before they set foot on the actual dancefloor (which will happen tonight, on the first live show). When we meet, four of those competing to lift the Glitterball trophy have gamely agreed to fill us in on their progress to date. So how can we sum up the mood? ‘It’s 50 per cent terror, 50 per cent excitement,’ says Catherine. ‘My biggest worry is forgetting the steps. I have no problem remembering pages of scripts, but my brain goes to jelly when it comes to dance steps. Although I’ve already discovered the secret as to why more contestants don’t muck up. The pros are brilliant at hissing, “Jump, turn, smile...” when you’re in the routine. The group dance was hilarious. That was all you could hear.’
James lets us in on another Strictly secret. That fear the celebs all must have of stamping on their partner’s feet? ‘You know what? It’s impossible to do that,’ he laughs. ‘They’re all so fast and nimble on their feet. They’re like boxers.’ His own feet are size 13. He gazes at them as if they belong to someone else. ‘My problem is I keep looking at them. Every time
‘My mood now is half excitement, half terror’ CATHERINE
I walk past Anton du Beke he says, “Stand up!” I’ve got terrible posture apparently, but he says, “Never mind about your feet. Eyes up!”’
Eyes up, a rms up, f ingers straight... oh God, don’t mention the fingers. ‘Someone was saying to me the other day that I’ve got rower’s hands,’ says James, holding them up like a bunch of bananas. ‘He said, “Craig Revel- Horwood is going to have an issue with your fingers.” I said, “Mate, if my fingers are the only thing Craig has an issue with then we’ll be doing well.”’
Of this batch, some celebs are less recognisable than others. They’re certainly drawn from very different celebrity spheres. Saffron Barker is this year’s Joe Sugg – a YouTube sensation with 2.2 million subscribers, she’s a walking, talking Instagram heroine. She’s famous for putting her entire life online (and does spend much of our photoshoot with phone in hand, snapping selfies). She’s only 19, and I’ll bet most people over 40 won’t have a clue who she is. For now. ‘Going mainstream’, as she puts it, will open up a whole new fanbase. ‘But mostly I’m doing it because I’m the biggest Strictly fan. We always watch it at home, and my parents are as excited as I am.’ How young she is, though. She was four when Strictly began, which hilariously makes the others shudder. ‘She’s a baby,’ says Catherine.
Intriguingly, Saffron’s new best friend in the Strictly ranks is the oldest contestant, Anneka Rice, who’s 60. This is an odd pairing. ‘It is – the oldest and the youngest – but we just hit it off,’ she says. Did she even know who Anneka was, and vice-versa? ‘I did. My parents used to talk about her. I hadn’t seen any of her programmes before, but I did have a Google when I knew she was on. I’m sure she did the same. That’s the lovely thing about Strictly, the mix of people.’
The other lovely thing about Strictly, for her, is the sequins. And the make-up. And the fact that fake tan is, well, law. ‘It was so funny when I went into make-up for the first time. Make-up artists tend to tone it down with me because I’m only 19, but I was saying, “No, bring it on. I want the full hit. More!” Then I wanted some fake tan and they sent me to a lady whose sole job is to do the fake tan on Strictly. How brilliant!’
Emma Thynn is perhaps the poshest person on Strictly this year, certainly the first Viscountess to have graced the dancefloor. She came into public consciousness when she married Ceawlin Thynn, son of the Marquess of Bath (and owner of Longleat Safari Park) in 2013. The union made headlines because Emma is of mixed race, so when her husband inherits the title she will be the first black Marchioness in Britain. Meghan Markle may have leapfrogged over her in the finally-bringing-inclusivity-to-thearistocracy stakes, but her presence in society is significant.
On the Strictly dancefloor too? Yes, she says she’s hoping to bring poise and elegance ( her modelling background won’t harm her here), but who knows? ‘I don’t know if I can dance. I’ve never had a lesson. But I couldn’t turn down the opportunity, because Strictly is an institution. I was very lucky to be asked.’ Does she have her own ballroom to practise in with her pro partner Aljaz Skorjanec, who won the show in 2013 with Abbey Clancy? Alas no. ‘Well, we have lovely rooms, but for the floor and the mirrors we are going to a studio.’ Was she stunned to be considered a celebrity? ‘Well, it’s a weird idea, but this is a new exper ience, a total departure.’
The more she chats about her everyday l ife though, the more you realise she might slot rather neatly into the surreal world of Strictly. Her home life is a bit bonkers, considering. Her father-in-law the Marquess of Bath (known for his eccentricity and his wifelets) lives on site too, but they are estranged. Longleat itself, and its famous safari park, is open to the public, so she’s used to having 8,000 strangers in the back garden, so to speak, along with tigers and lions, koalas and giraffes. ‘It’s quite surreal, but so inclusive, a really magical kingdom, an all-singing, all- dancing attraction,’ she says of her home. So perfect training for Strictly. She agrees that there are other parallels too, namely the contrast between the outwardly glamorous gloss and the furious hard work that goes on behind the scenes. ‘At home I’m mostly in leggings and wellies, just being a mum.’
She does look the most princessey of the contestants here today, but there’s obviously grit under the gloss. She’s had to contend with all manner of issues since her introduction into the public eye. Her motherin-law famously has no contact with her children (and was uninvited to the wedding after apparent slurs about Emma’s heritage). Becoming
‘I’m usually in leggings and wellies, being a mum’ EMMA