Nadiya Bychkova has revealed starring on Strictly helps her cope with worries over the war in her homeland Ukraine.
The dancer, 34, fears for the safety of her relatives living there while the conflict with Russia continues.
Every day she is nervous she’ll get a call with devastating news. But working on a show as joyful as Strictly is giving her a much-needed boost.
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She told the Daily Star Sunday: “There is not a lot of good news in the world at the moment. It’s hard. I’m lucky that my mum is now living here with me, although my grandma is still in Ukraine. That’s difficult for me and I’m worried.
(Image: Nadiya Bychkova/Instagram)
“But Strictly helps me deal with it. It gives me a bit of normality. And it’s so positive and beautiful and kind. And it helps me every day to know that Strictly makes people smile. We all love working on the show because we know how much it means to people. It brings us joy that we can make someone’s day better.”
Nadiya also gets a big boost from seeing how welcoming kind-hearted Brits have been to Ukrainian refugees. Since the war started, more than 174,000 have settled here.
Nadiya said: “I am very grateful for what British people have done for Ukrainian people when they came here. You see it on every corner, you see it everywhere. I see it every day.
“I had a conversation with a business owner who told me, ‘I can’t believe how hard-working Ukrainian people are. They actually kept my company going and I just want to keep them here’. To hear something like that is beautiful.”
Nadiya joined Strictly in 2017 and has become a favourite among fans. After competing professionally for years, it’s been a dream come true to be on the show.
(Image: Nadiya Bychkova/Instagram)
She said: “I’m falling in love with the show more and more each year. Now I live in the UK full-time, I understand what the show means to people.
“I meet people in the street who tell me how much they love it. The other day I was in a changing room and a lady told me, ‘Thank you so much for the show I watch on Saturday nights’.”
Nadiya hasn’t been given a celebrity partner this series, which has sparked anger from many viewers. But she reckons it’s one of the best runs in its history.
She said: “It’s such a great year. It feels like every year it gets bigger and bigger. I’m not sure how we do it.”
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Source: Celebrities - dailystar.co.uk
