TV’S SARA ON STRICTLY PAL PLUS
EXCLUSIVE
BY NICOLA FAHEY
DRAGON’S Den star Sara Davies already considered her former Strictly partner Aljaž Škorjanec a “fairy godmother” to her own kids.
But the pro dancer had confessed that, sadly, he and wife Janette Manrara were struggling to conceive.
So when Aljaž video-called Sara and told her he was finally going to be a dad, his good pal was overjoyed.
Sara, 38, had been praying for good news for Aljaž – who she became close to while filming the 2021 series of Strictly – and It Takes Two host Janette.
She says: “He FaceTimed me and was like a little excitable puppy. As soon as I saw his eyes, I knew what it was going to be… then he cried.
“In the 18 months we’ve been friends, I’ve known how much he wanted kids. He was at that stage in his life where he was so desperate for a family.
“He’s like a fairy godmother to my boys – they idolise him. It’s been a long time in the making.”
Sara knows all too well the agonising journey her friends, who she regularly goes on holiday with, have been through.
He’s a fairy godmother to my two boys – they idolise him. I’m so happy for him
CONFIDENT
In her mid-20s, after starting her hit company Crafter’s Companion while still at university in York – entrepreneur Sara was desperate to have a baby.
But happily, after she and husband Simon, 42 – who she has been with since she was 15 – stopped trying and she lost some weight, she soon conceived.
Now the couple are proud parents to sons Oliver, eight, and Charlie, five.
Sara became a household name when she joined the Dragon’s Den panel in 2019.
She rose to the top in the business world after her crafting supply company took off. It is now worth more than £35million and has earned her an MBE.
Taking part in Strictly and appearing on TV alongside fellow Dragons Peter Jones, Deborah Meaden, Touker Suleyman and Steven Bartlett has raised Sara’s confidence to an all-time high.
She says: “Confidence is a choice – it’s a choice I make every day to be a really confident, outgoing, happy person.”
Sara is also comfortable opening up about her fluctuating weight.
She admits: “I’m terrible. When I was doing Strictly, I was really trim, and then I went on the tour and drank myself into oblivion for six weeks and lived like a student eating chips every night.
“I’ve never been a skinny person. For a lot of people, that could affect their self-confidence but I won’t let it.
“I always choose clothes that are really bright and vibrant because I think they’re a positive reflection of my personality.”
With her straighttalking attitude and northern roots, Sara is deemed a vital asset by Dragons
Den bosses. Some 4.3 million people tuned in to the most recent series – up 800,000 from last year. BBC execs have already signed her up for a fifth year – making her the second longeststanding female dragon after Deborah.
Sara – who was born in Hartlepool and now lives in County Durham – admits: “The more time I spend in the chair, the more comfortable I am in my own skin.”
The entrepreneur credits her husband, who she married in 2007, as the backbone of her success.
She says: “We’re deeply, madly in love with each other and there’s a massive amount of respect.
“With Simon, we have role reversal. He’s the organised one. He keeps on top of all the school stuff and puts the