'I didn't want to go but I was hopeless': Will Edwina Currie's exit from Strictly be followed by Nancy's last waltz?
By NATALIE CLARKE
Last updated at 11:06 AM on 10th October 2011
Edwina Currie last night pledged her support to chubby astrologer Russell Grant, as she became the first contestant to get the boot from the BBC’s Strictly Come Dancing.
She was voted off the hit show despite her ‘foe’, Nancy Dell’Olio, ending up bottom of the leader board. But if a week is a long time in politics, it seems 24 hours is even longer in ballroom dancing...
'I was hopeless': Edwina Currie with dance partner Vincent Simone were voted off
Drinkers in the bar at BBC Television Centre were no doubt astounded on Saturday night, as they watched the middle-aged brunette climb up onto a table, glass of champagne in hand.
The woman in question was Edwina Currie, ex-Conservative minister and 64-year-old grandmother. She had just become the first person to be evicted from the latest series of Strictly Come Dancing, and most people would be drowning their sorrows. But then Edwina is not most people.
Edwina paints this arresting scene as she recalls her trip to the fourth-floor bar at the BBC’s Shepherd’s Bush studios on Saturday night.
Moment of truth: Audley Harrison and Natalie Lowe were against Edwina Currie and Vincent Simone in the bottom two, with the former MP getting sent home first
Gutted: Edwina looked sad to be the first evictee, but thanked partner Vincent Simone for the experience
‘Various people bought me champagne,’ she recalls. ‘I do vaguely remember standing on a table.’ Really? Was she dancing on the table, perhaps? ‘Yes, if you can call it dancing, which is probably the way Len (Goodman, head judge) would have put it.’
All in all, however, Edwina seems remarkably chipper, under the circumstances, even if the events of the night before are a little hazy.
She recalls clearly the moment she learned she was to be the first person evicted from the latest series of Strictly, her shock and disappointment, then heading to bar with her daughter, Debbie, 36.
The sight of Edwina, champagne glass in hand, dancing on a table, is disturbingly easy to imagine. But by then, she probably needed a drink or two.
Best foot forward? Nancy Dell'Olio and Anton Du Beke fared badly
Len, widely regarded as the ‘nice’ judge on the panel, was highly critical of Edwina’s foxtrot on Saturday night.
The 19 points awarded by the judges left her and her partner, Vincent Simone, one from bottom on the score board — though above Nancy Dell’Olio and Anton du Beke who scored 14.
Nancy’s salsa provoked universal hilarity, but she was saved from eviction by the public vote. Edwina was not so lucky.
But however short her Strictly journey was, it was enough time for reports to circulate of an on-set feud between the 64-year-old former Conservative minister and 50-year-old Nancy. ‘I don’t want to be next to her,’ Nancy is said to have insisted to choreographers. ‘She’s not glamorous enough.’
But although Nancy has denied making these comments, Edwina is far from bitter . . . well, almost.
‘Nancy is a nice woman, she’s nice to everybody, very warm, very friendly, looks absolutely stunning, breathtaking, and close up, you know . . . you can’t see the joins on Nancy, it’s brilliant.’
Foes: There was said to be an on-set feud between the 64-year-old former Conservative minister and Nancy, 50
Whatever can she mean? I meet Edwina at the Marble Arch hotel where she has spent the night following her Strictly defeat and accompany her to Euston station, where she is catching the train back to her home near Macclesfield, to be reunited with her second husband, John Jones, a former police officer, whom she calls JJ.
‘I’m not going to talk about John Major,’ is the first thing she says (Edwina notoriously revealed her affair with the former Prime Minister in her published diaries). Instead, in the car, she mulls over her performance and defeat.
‘Long experience in politics tells me you should never anticipate a vote. I did as well as I could. The commitment is to do 12 hours’ training a week and we did 17, to the point where I could not do any more.
Face the music and dance: Edwina performed with Vincent last night, but did not prove popular with viewers
‘I don’t know what I did to annoy Len. The criticism that we spent too long setting up the story and not enough dancing was a little unfair especially as a number of the others did exactly the same and scored better.’
Was she happy with her performance? ‘No, no, no, no. I was hopeless, well, not completely hopeless but a long way from good and some of the others are excellent already, mind-blowing.’
Support: Edwina pledged to back Russell Grant in the competition
Edwina admits she was shocked to be voted out, but adds: ‘It could be the judges simply expecting that the people at the bottom of the leader board would generate a lot of sympathy and it didn’t happen or maybe voters thought, “oh, she’ll be OK”, and voted for others.
‘I suspect there was possibly a misjudgment that whoever was at the bottom would be OK so that the voting would have an interesting turnabout, but it didn’t work like that.’
Edwina prefers her theory that the ones who vote are the younger viewers who are more likely to pick up the phone for boyband member Harry Judd.
‘I’m disappointed to be out. I was hoping I might be in as long as John Sergeant,’ she sighs. ‘That would have suited me nicely, and justification for having been asked to do it.
‘I did hope that I would learn to dance. But the foxtrot was so not me. The foxtrot is a very difficult dance.
'You have to keep your head in one place, your arms in another place, your torso aligned and straight, power is in your legs, you lead with your knees, it’s a very strange position. It’s a bit like filing your nails, you can do one at a time but you can’t do them all at once.
‘Anyway, following rather than leading? Submissive rather than assertive? Delicate steps with hidden power rather than sheer brutality on a Thatcherite scale? I don’t think so.’
Maybe it wasn’t the dancing. Could it have been Edwina’s perennial eagerness to let us all know she is a hot-blooded and lusty woman that put off the public?
Her cha-cha-cha last week ended with her flat on her back wiggling her legs in the air and flashing what appeared to be red knickers. ‘Not knickers, a leotard,’ she corrects.
Might viewers have found it all a bit too much? ‘Hmm, I don’t think so. But the analysis of why you lose an election takes place after an election.’
So what of her analysis of Nancy’s frenzied salsa? Edwina giggles. ‘She did it well — compared to before (a reference to Nancy’s even worse waltz). She’d worked a lot harder than the previous week. I think the show hit her with the force of some surprise of how much was required. But she’s a game bird.’
Did Edwina enjoy Nancy’s waltz last week, which degenerated into a tussle between Nancy and the feather boa — which the feather boa won? ‘The thing that made us laugh so much, and we were all laughing without any kind of malice, was that the feather boa went AWOL during rehearsal, at which point anyone sensible would say “sod the feather boa”.
‘But they kept it in and the same thing happened again. I think that’s Anton being wicked. Oh, I think he figured out exactly what was going to happen and carried on. The conspiracy theory is that Anton suggested the boa in the first place.’
Is Nancy a prima donna. ‘Yes, but in a glorious way,’ says Edwina, ever the politician.
At Euston, Edwina charges me with the task of carrying her suitcase up the flight of stairs onto the concourse, as she leads the way. A middle-aged lady commiserates with her. The sort of woman Edwina expected to hit the phone lines.
As she boards the train I ask if she’s feeling sad. ‘Do you know, I’ve moved on,’ she says. ‘We’re 12 hours on and I’m delighted to be getting home and resuming my normal life.
‘It’s great to be involved in Strictly’s success. It is the antidote to the recession. I taught economics, I could talk for hours about the Eurozone, quantitative easing and whether it’s going on or not. But I never want to do a foxtrot again.’
Save the last dance for me: The remaining contestants
Before her exit, Edwina Currie had landed in the bottom two against Audley Harrison.
But the Olympic boxer triumphed, joining his fellow contestants and sending the former MP home.
Robbie Savage was the first to be saved, crediting Ola Jordan's choreography for keeping them out of the bottom two.
Thrilled: Chelsee Healy took to the stage in her provocative outfit again and grinned over her success
Lulu and Brendan Cole were over the moon to be called next, obviously expecting the worse having coming third from bottom on the Saturday show.
Top scorers of last night Jason Donovan and Kristina Rihanoff were the third pair announced, unsurprisingly considering they dominated the leader board with 33 out of 40.
Alex Jones and James Jordan looked elated as they were also safe from elimination, while Holly Valance and Artem Chigvintsev sighed with relief as they realised their fate.
Buxom Chelsee Healy grinned from ear to ear as she was put through to next week with Pasha Kovalev, but spirits were soon dampened when Audley learned he may face a long taxi ride in the opposite direction of the studio.
Pretty in pink: Alex Jones clearly impressed the judges last night and will be taking part in Broadway Week
The other couples were left to sweat a little more before discovering their fate as Alesha Dixon was interviewed and revealed her disappointment.
Speaking of Audley, she said: 'It's really disappointing, he wasn't the worse dancer. For me personally, he doesn't deserve to be in the bottom two.'
She also praised Chelsee, saying: 'Beyonce eat your heart out. There are some things you can't teach, she's dancing with her soul and passion.'
Champion in the making? Jason Donovan, who scored the highest score for the second week running last night, will continue in the competition
Meanwhile, Bruno Tonioli raved about The One Show host Alex, adding: 'She has to keep refining and polishing, she has to keep the confidence. The talent is there, she looked stunning last night.'
He also credited Anita Dobson, saying: 'She started beautifully, then got her knickers in a twist, but she carried on. Something can go wrong, but it can't stop you carrying on.'
The former EastEnder was the next to be saved with partner Robin Windsor, swiftly followed by Rory Bremner and Erin Boag, Dan Lobb and Katya Virshilas, and Harry Judd and Aliona Vilani.
Partners in crime: Robbie Savage throws his arms around Ola Jordan and praised her choreography
Russell Grant and Flavia Cacace, along with Nancy Dell'Olio and Anton du Beke, had to wait until the last possible minute when they realised Edwina would face the music against Audley.
When Edwina discovered her fate, she said: 'I feel very sorry for Vincent, he's worked very hard and been a terrific teacher, everything we did wrong was entirely my fault.'
Vincent added: 'I had so much fun, which I didn't expect as you are a politicianist (sic). I will always remember you.'
Next Saturday is Broadway Week, where couples will have to embrace the world of musical theatre.
Growing in confidence: Holly Valance hugs Artem Chigvintsev as she slowly starts believing in herself
Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbiz/article-2047170/Strictly-Come-Dancing-2011-After-Edwina-Curries-exit-Nancy-DellOlio-next.html#ixzz1aPG4OESd
