Strictly Ruth: I’m like baby elephant
STRICTLY Come Dancing contestant Ruth Langsford joked she “looked like a baby elephant” as she leapt into her partner’s arms in the launch show.
Host Tess Daly revealed on Saturday’s programme that the This Morning presenter was paired with Anton Du Beke.
Ruth, 57, jumped up and threw her legs around him.
She told ITV’s Loose Women: “I didn’t know how to get down.
“I looked like a baby elephant and then Bruno (Tonioli) went ‘Oohhh’.”
It broke the ice for the partnership and Ruth said Anton, 51, was “such good fun”. She added: “He’s a brilliant dancer and fantastic teacher.”
The unveiling of the new line-up, which includes Scots Susan Calman and Joe McFadden, was a ratings winner with almost nine million tuning in. LOVELY jubbly … viewers are to get a glimpse of a lost episode of Only Fools and Horses for the first time.
It is understood to have been lying on a shelf for years.
The episode of the classic sitcom was Lennard Pearce’s final appearance as Grandad before his death in 1984.
Del Boy Trotter, played by Sir David Jason, reveals a new get-rich-quick scheme – he has bought an oil rig for £400. Now all the family need to do is extract their own black gold to sell.
Del says: “We just lay low in our boat for a while and wait for one of the big oil companies to move off the oil field then we whip in a bit lively and use their hole.”
As usual, Del Boy soon realises his dream of becoming a millionaire is doomed to fail.
The episode, called Licensed to Drill, has never been aired on TV. It was written by Only Fools and Horses creator John Sullivan and filmed in 1984.
The 19-minute instalment was produced by the Maureen Oilfield Consortium and was exclusively made to be shown in schools to teach children about crude oil.
In addition to airing scenes from the forgotten episode, The Story of Only Fools and Horses, the series being shown on UKTV’s Gold channel, features some of the best outtakes from the comedy.
Acknowledging it wasn’t all plain sailing during filming, Nicholas Lyndhurst, who played Rodney, says: “So you think we shot one perfectly every week? Uh uh.”
In one of the foul-ups David forgets his lines and exclaims: “We might as well start again because I’ve gone now.”
Gwyneth Strong – Cassandra Trotter in the BBC show – says: “The outtakes brought back loads of memories for us, memories you don’t even realise are there until you start seeing that material. I kept saying ‘Who knew?’ all the way through watching it.” John Quinn, executive producer of the Gold series, said: “Thanks to the late John Sullivan’s family, we have access to exclusive behind-the-scenes material – driven by anecdotes by many who were there.” Steve North, general manager for Gold, said: “I am so excited to be working with the Sullivan family to help celebrate Gold’s 25th birthday, and delve into the archives of one of the most loved shows on the channel. Gold viewers will get a real treat.” The Story of Only Fools and Horses is on Gold on Tuesdays at 8pm until October 3, which is when scenes from Licensed to Drill will be shown.