Bill Bailey has revealed he was asked ‘four or five times over the years’ to take part in Strictly Come Dancing before he eventually gave in and agreed to sign up.
The actor and musician participated in the 2020 series and made history becoming the oldest winner of the BBC show aged 55 alongside his professional partner Oti Mabuse.
Bailey, now 57, shared how persistent the corporation was in trying to convince him to take the plunge on Jay Rayner’s podcast Out To Lunch.
‘What I objected to was the relentlessness of it,’ he admitted. ‘I just thought, I’ll never be able to commit to this amount of time. It’s ridiculous.
‘And then, of course, you know, a once-in-a-century pandemic comes on.’
The Never Mind the Buzzcocks panel star also spoke about work being cancelled as a result of the coronavirus pandemic.
He told food critic Rayner: ‘All of this work was just disappearing out the door, all the live gigs. Gradually, they all went like dominoes, they all disappeared. I tried doing Zoom gigs, online stuff, and it’s pretty grim.’
More than 13 million people tuned in to watch Bailey see off competition from HRVY, Maisie Smith, and Jamie Laing in the live final.
But Bailey said his expectations for the show had been ‘very low’ before taking part.
‘I mean, my dance skills are very much basically flailing enthusiastically,’ he added. ‘I’ve never done any choreography.
‘I’ve never taken dance classes. I didn’t even know what the hell I’m doing. So I might end up being the kind of novelty contestant.’
The comedian also praised his former dance partner, new Dancing On Ice judge Mabuse, for winning the show for two consecutive years – with him and soap star Kelvin Fletcher.
‘It’s unprecedented,’ he enthused. ‘No professional has won it two years consecutively. I think they thought, well, Bill’s a safe bet and I don’t think anyone expected me to do well.’
Bailey took the record as oldest winner from Joe McFadden, who won in 2017, aged 42.
Their couple’s choice dance to Rapper’s Delight by The Sugarhill Gang was a standout moment in the series.
Strictly Come Dancing is expected to return to the BBC later this year.
Credit: Original article published here.You can read this post on My Celebrity Life.
Bill Bailey has revealed he was asked ‘four or five times over the years’ to take part in Strictly Come Dancing before he eventually gave in and agreed to sign up.
The actor and musician participated in the 2020 series and made history becoming the oldest winner of the BBC show aged 55 alongside his professional partner Oti Mabuse.
Bailey, now 57, shared how persistent the corporation was in trying to convince him to take the plunge on Jay Rayner’s podcast Out To Lunch.
‘What I objected to was the relentlessness of it,’ he admitted. ‘I just thought, I’ll never be able to commit to this amount of time. It’s ridiculous.
‘And then, of course, you know, a once-in-a-century pandemic comes on.’
The Never Mind the Buzzcocks panel star also spoke about work being cancelled as a result of the coronavirus pandemic.
He told food critic Rayner: ‘All of this work was just disappearing out the door, all the live gigs. Gradually, they all went like dominoes, they all disappeared. I tried doing Zoom gigs, online stuff, and it’s pretty grim.’
More than 13 million people tuned in to watch Bailey see off competition from HRVY, Maisie Smith, and Jamie Laing in the live final.
But Bailey said his expectations for the show had been ‘very low’ before taking part.
‘I mean, my dance skills are very much basically flailing enthusiastically,’ he added. ‘I’ve never done any choreography.
‘I’ve never taken dance classes. I didn’t even know what the hell I’m doing. So I might end up being the kind of novelty contestant.’
The comedian also praised his former dance partner, new Dancing On Ice judge Mabuse, for winning the show for two consecutive years – with him and soap star Kelvin Fletcher.
‘It’s unprecedented,’ he enthused. ‘No professional has won it two years consecutively. I think they thought, well, Bill’s a safe bet and I don’t think anyone expected me to do well.’
Bailey took the record as oldest winner from Joe McFadden, who won in 2017, aged 42.
Their couple’s choice dance to Rapper’s Delight by The Sugarhill Gang was a standout moment in the series.
Strictly Come Dancing is expected to return to the BBC later this year.
Credit: Original article published here.You can read this post on My Celebrity Life.