Strictly Come Dancing reaches its most dazzling annual milestone, as the remaining pro-celebrity duos depart from London and head north to the Blackpool Tower Ballroom
Gloria Estefan is kicking off tonight’s Tower Ballroom extravaganza in Blackpool with a medley of her greatest hits, accompanied by a stunning pro routine – if that doesn’t get you in the mood for dancing, we don’t know what will!
Blackpool always delivers big, bold crowd-pleasing routines as the couples whizz across the huge sprung floor.
Everyone wants to put on a show in the spiritual home of ballroom, but one partnership won’t quite do enough to stay in the competition – which pair will be getting the last tram home?
Only you can decide…
Whatever happens, watch out for Take That on the results show tomorrow night (7.20pm)!
TV Times rating: *****
Here, in our TV Times exclusive interview, Joe Sugg reveals he never expected to become famous, or to do well on the BBC1 dance competition – but he’s loving every second…
You must be excited about the prospect of going to Blackpool?
Yes! From the start I said the main goal would be to get to Blackpool. Obviously getting to the final would be great, but this episode is such a big thing for me, because it means a lot to my nan.
Your Nana Phyllis must be delighted at the thought of you dancing at the Tower Ballroom?
Yes, I want her to see me perform there because she danced there in her 20s. She’s 96 now and uses a wheelchair, but hopefully the Tower is modernised and has a ramp. It means so much to me to have her there, she’s such a proud Nan! All my grandparents are so chuffed; my grandad even has Instagram to see what my sister [fashion and beauty YouTube star] Zoella and I are up to.
You’ve become a serious contender for the Glitterball – did you think you had it in you?
No, I’ve definitely surprised myself. I’m always such a perfectionist, even when I watch videos of the performances back afterwards I notice I missed a step there or my thumb was poking out a little bit here… It’s been going well, though, and it’s so much fun! Everyone’s so nice, too, and Stacey [Dooley] is like a big sister to me – we text throughout the week to ask about each other’s dances.
You were a roof thatcher before you started your YouTube channel in 2011. How strange is it to now find yourself on Britain’s biggest TV show?
The amount of times I have pinch-yourself moments, just contemplating how weird it is that six years ago I was convinced I was going to be a roof thatcher, on a roof on cold January mornings, well into my 70s. Then my hobby became a career and has led to Strictly. It’s like a movie plot!
Do you think your fanbase has changed since starting Strictly?
A hundred per cent. Dianne and I get stopped a lot when we go out for lunch breaks and it’s so nice to have a chat with a completely different demographic. I still obviously love and appreciate the younger audience, but one of the main things I wanted to achieve from the show was to get kids and their parents watching something together, and also to hopefully make it a bit more okay for younger guys to get involved in dance.
Strictly is a great boost for your profile – what would you like to do next?
When I signed up to do the show I didn’t even think about what would happen afterwards – I was convinced I’d be out in the first couple of weeks because I’d never tried to dance before. I thought my following could vote me through to Movie Week, but I wouldn’t have the skills to get further. We’ll see what happens.
We see you becoming the next Phillip Schofield…
Well, that’s a massive compliment – I love Phillip Schofield!
