SOAP & glory

As Strictly goes live, contenders BOBBY BRAZIER, ADAM THOMAS and ELLIE LEACH tell us about their preparations for the big night

- HANNAH DAVIES

STRICTLY COME DANCING

SATURDAY, 6.15 PM, BBC1 ENTERTAINMENT 

After the glitz and glamour of last week’s sparkling launch show, our 15 celebrities are now busy limbering up ahead of their first dance with their professional partner as Strictly goes live this Saturday.

TV Times caught up with soap stars Bobby Brazier, 20, Adam Thomas, 35, and Ellie Leach, 22, to find out how they feel about tripping the light fantastic…

BOBBY BRAZIER 

Has played EastEnders’ Freddie Slater since 2022

Pro partner: Dianne Buswell

What do your EastEnders colleagues make of you taking to the dance floor?

They’re all buzzing because everyone who knows me knows that I like to dance. They just think that me doing this makes total sense. Although as a past contestant, James Bye [AKA Martin Fowler, who competed in the 2022 series] keeps telling me to eat a lot because he doesn’t want me to get skinny!

Would you say you’re a good dancer? 

I always used to say, ‘Yeah, I’m a good dancer.’ But I’m not. I’ve realised recently, what with these crazy elegant ballroom dances like the waltz, I’ve got serious work to do!

Ex-EastEnders star Rose Ayling-Ellis (AKA Frankie Carter) won two years ago with Giovanni Pernice. Is the pressure on for another Walford win?