Strictly Come Dancing is back with a bang this weekend, and for one of the stars it will be even more emotional as Greg Wise is doing the show in memory of his sister.
Greg’s beloved sibling Clare died from cancer in 2016, aged just 51.
Now, Greg says he wants to dance in honour of his sister, who he helped to care for until the end.
The star, who is married to Emma Thompson, revealed he almost said no to doing the show.
“I was asked, and I thought, no, absolutely not, I can’t do it,” he insisted, shaking his head.
(Image: Getty Images)
“Then I thought about it – it’s almost exactly five years since the day that my sister died – it will be the first day that we do our routines on this,” he recalls sadly.
Clearly the proud sibling, Greg insists: “My sister was a real disco diva, she was the dancer in the family. She left this world in a glitter ball coffin.”
“This show is all glittery and diva and disco, so I thought I have to do it.”
(Image: BBC/Ray Burmiston)
When asked about what song he would love to dance to, Greg doesn’t miss a beat to mention Clare’s favourite, Abba: “Dancing Queen was her big one. I think we could probably do a waltz to Dancing Queen, that would be fun.”
As well as doing it for his sister, Greg revealed his “dear lady wife” Emma Thompson also made him say yes to the show.
“I told my dear lady wife when they’d asked me and I’d said no, and she said “You’re mad. You’ve got to do it!” and she’s been filming solidly since January.”
(Image: Getty Images)
The decision to do the show cost him a holiday: “She’s made three films back to back. Oddly, she finally finishes her last film tomorrow. We planned a really nice autumn – we were actually going to have our first holiday in seven years together!”
He revealed: “Over the space of a five minute conversation, the two of us had the entire autumn was kicked into the long grass, and here I am”
(Image: FilmMagic)
“She’s thrilled because she’ll be able to relax and support me and watch every Saturday night – or as many Saturday nights as I survive.”
He shared that Emma also took him shopping for fitted and tailored outfits.
“I have a rather wild golden shirt I have to wear!” he joked.
There’s one other thing worrying him, too: “I’m probably most nervous about hurting myself, because I’m very, very, very accident prone!”
(Image: Dave Benett/Getty Images for The Ivy West Street)
“Most of my fingers are broken, I’ve got a comedy bent. I do tend to fall off things and trip over things. I’ve got to be on my best behaviour.”
He says he’s not in it to win it, and wants to just have fun and do what he can, and jokes he needs a dance partner who will “thrash” him.
Fans are excited to see what he gets up to.
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Source: Celebrities - dailystar.co.uk
