EastEnders' Jamie Borthwick on why prior training won't help him on Strictly
"I didn't really pay attention."
Fans of Strictly Come Dancing may have done a double take when they first saw that EastEnders star Jamie Borthwick was competing. After all, wasn't he just on the show?
Well, yes and no. While Borthwick did appear on last year's Christmas special, partnered up with Nancy Xu and going on to win, he hasn't appeared in a full season before.
In spite of this, Borthwick has told this week's issue of Radio Times magazine that some of the other contestants are making hay with his accomplishment.
Borthwick said: "Wynne [Evans] won’t let me forget it, nor will Pete [Wicks]! I’m feeling good…"
Meanwhile, his partner Michelle Tsiakkas said: "Wynne just shouts out randomly, 'Cheat!' But let’s not forget that JB Gill has also won a Strictly Christmas special."
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Borthwick continued: "I didn’t think I’d ever be here again. Everything I learnt from Nancy [Xu] has kind of gone. I’ve forgotten it all!"
Borthwick was then asked about his prior dance experience before competing on the show, to which he said: "Zero. I’m just a head bopper and a finger waver.
"I went to the Sylvia Young Theatre School, and everyone thinks that because I had a handful of lessons there, I can dance, but I can admit now — I didn’t really pay attention."
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Borthwick isn't the first celebrity to fend off suggestions that he has an unfair advantage due to previous dance experience - far from it.
In fact, he's not the first this year, as Tasha Ghouri, who has a background in commercial dance, has previously said: "I've not danced for quite a few years - since Love Island, my career is so different.
"It's such a different dance style, I may actually not be good at it, like ballet - I'm not good at ballet. I'm trained in commercial street style. It's going to be very hard but I'm excited for a challenge."
See more of our interview with Jamie and Michelle in this week’s Radio Times – on sale from Tuesday 17th September.
Strictly Come Dancing continues on Saturday 21st September 2024.
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