She added: ‘I’m wearing his watch, his shirt and his necklace.
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The model says she is also grateful to her Strictly “family” – with Louise Redknapp in particular helping her through the hard time.
Brendan Cole, who has been on Strictly since the first series, will be waltzing his way on to the dance floor with United States singer Anastacia while Anton du Beke, who has also been there since the beginning, is with Birds Of A Feather actress Lesley Joseph.
Good news for Strictly fans!
Mr Balls said he and his wife – Labour MP Yvette Cooper – found watching his performance “traumatic”.
“‘Strictly Come Dancing” contestant Daisy Lowe has revealed that her grandfather passed away suddenly on the first day of rehearsals for the BBC One show.
Viewers tuned in to see stars including Daisy Lowe, Laura Whitmore and Ed Balls paired with their professional partners, with the show gaining a 46.4 % audience share.
The figures beat Strictly’s 8.7 million viewers in 2015, which pipped The X Factor to the top spot in last year’s ratings battle.
The 14th series of the ballroom dancing show, which beat The X Factor in the ratings past year, officially goes live in three weeks.
Despite a revamp by Simon Cowell, its launch show was watched by 6.8 million (34% share) with a peak of 7.5 million.
This is the biggest audience yet for a Strictly launch show and is up an impressive 600,000 on previous year.
Saturday night’s third X Factor episode was beaten by Strictly, although the rivals show were not broadcast at the same time.
Strictly’s blockbusting viewing figures come just days after The Great British Bake Off pulled in 10.14 million viewers – nearly half of those watching television in the United Kingdom between 8pm and 9pm – for the second episode in its latest series.
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The BBC One show gained record ratings during it’s launch show.
