Brucie McFlies into a panic: Stage invasion by winner's band stuns veteran host

By Ben Todd and Louise Eccles

Last updated at 11:53 PM on 18th December 2011

It was one part of Strictly which had definitely not been choreographed – to the consternation of veteran host Sir Bruce Forsyth.

As boy-band drummer Harry Judd was crowned King of the Ballroom, his three bandmates from McFly invaded the stage to share his celebrations.

They leapt on top of him, leaving his dance partner Aliona Vilani standing alone and Sir Bruce in a panic.

As Harry and Aliona celebrate, members of McFly race on to the stage at Blackpool's Tower Ballroom

Singer-guitarist Danny Jones leaps into his drummer's arms as Aliona looks on in disbelief

Not realising they were friends of Judd, the 83-year-old host mistook them for troublemakers and shouted: ‘Get off the stage! Get off the stage! Get off! Get off!’ before trying to shoo them back to their seats.

To make matters worse, Judd’s father Christopher then appeared on stage at the Tower Ballroom in Blackpool.

A clearly irritated Sir Bruce said to Judd: ‘Is that your father? Is that your dad?,’ before also telling him to: ‘Get off! Get off!’ and waving him back to his seat.

Judd’s bandmates were unrepentant about their behaviour.

Tom Fletcher said: ‘I think Brucie thought we were streakers. We wanted to streak but I don’t think the BBC would be too happy about that.’

And Dougie Poynter – who this month triumphed in ITV’s I’m A Celebrity…Get Me Out Of Here! – tweeted: ‘Ha ha! Baited Bruce!’ Some fans of the show also took to Twitter and claimed Sir Bruce’s attempt to remove McFly from the stage was ‘the best television moment of 2011’ and ‘TV gold’.

'Get off the stage! Get off! Get off! A flustered Sir Bruce gives the band their marching orders

Dougie Poynter, left, and Jones flee the Forsyth wrath. Poynter later Tweeted: Ha ha! Baited Bruce!'

Judd, who turns 26 on Friday, had been the odds-on favourite to win the show. He said afterwards: ‘First the boys came on and then my dad glided on to the stage too. I was like, “Dad, what are you doing?” ’

While some critical viewers questioned how much longer Sir Bruce could continue with his arduous Strictly schedule, BBC sources said he would ‘carry on for as long as he could’ and ‘would not even contemplate retiring’ while he was in good health. A source close to Sir Bruce said he was more than likely to return for the next series of the show.

Another added: ‘Sir Bruce is Strictly.’

Judd also had kind words for the perennial presenter, who had said the drummer was so good he could be a professional dancer. ‘I’m not sure if that is entirely true but it is kind of Bruce to say,’ he said. ‘It has been an absolute honour to be on the same show as Bruce and, thankfully, I got to say that to him.’

Backstage whispers

Jason Donovan shunned the after-show party and went straight home. He was believed to be devastated at not winning and was seen picking up his bags from his hotel shortly after the show finished. Sir Bruce Forsyth also failed to turn up.

Judge Alesha Dixon was unimpressed by the event at a bar in Blackpool’s Pleasure Beach theme park. Wearing a thigh-skimming green dress and towering nude heels, she left at 1.30am. She said: ‘I will be honest with you. It’s all right in there, but it’s not the best.’

An exhausted dancer complained that organisers wanted to double the number of shows in the Strictly live tour. ‘But we said no,’ she told a friend.

Judge Bruno Tonioli is dreaming of an exotic holiday. He was overheard telling friends: ‘All I want to do is read books and swim naked.’

Judd, 25, beat Waterloo Road star Chelsee Healey – partnered by Pasha Kovalev – and Jason Donovan with professional dancer Kristina Rihanoff in the showcase final, which drew a peak audience of more than 13million.
Afterwards, Judd said he almost did not do the show and had to be persuaded to take part by his girlfriend, violinist Izzy Johnston.

‘Originally, as soon as my manager said you’ve been asked to do Strictly Come Dancing I was like, “No-no-no”,’ he said.

‘But my girlfriend and family said, “What a great opportunity. You’ll be taught to dance”.’

Despite producing four faultless routines when it mattered, Judd admitted that the dress rehearsal for the final was ‘disastrous’. He said: ‘In the dress run of the American smooth, the lift at the end went wrong and I almost dropped [Aliona].

‘Then, in the Argentine tango, I tripped her up and we had to miss a whole section. Everyone was reassuring us, “Don’t worry – bad dress run, good show”.’

The drummer – a former pupil of Uppingham public school in Rutland – won a loyal legion of fans during the series with his topless performances. However, he admitted he found some of the revealing outfits he was made to wear each week embarrassing.

He said: ‘If I was watching myself, I would be like, “Mate, put it away”. I said I wasn’t going to do any more topless dancing after Wembley. I just thought it was so embarrassing when James and Brendan ripped my top off. Enough is enough.’

At the after-show party in a Blackpool bar, Judd stuck to bottled water. He said: ‘I don’t really drink. I stopped drinking last year and that has been a good thing for me. On Strictly I’ve had no hangovers and I’ve been able to focus.’

At Christmas, he said, he would ‘hide and chill for a bit’ and spend time with ‘my mum, dad and granny’.

Harry did it to help the band

By Dan Wootton

Anyone predicting that he will use his Strictly success to seek stardom in his own right just doesn’t know my old friend Harry Judd.

A few days before Saturday’s glittering final, in his typically modest manner, he told me: ‘I honestly can’t wait to get back behind my drums and let my bandmates take the lead for a while.’

In fact, the reason Harry originally decided to compete in Strictly was to bring fresh attention to McFly, who are attempting to make the difficult transition into an adult act as their fans grow up with them.

Just the start: Harry Judd, pictured with dance partner Aliona Vilani, will be hoping his triumph can help his band McFly secure more success

After Harry’s triumph and bandmate Dougie Poynter’s surprise win on ITV1’s I’m A Celebrity ... Get Me Out of Here! earlier in the month, McFly’s management are urging the talented quartet to release new material in a quest for their first No 1 song in five years.

Harry, who now shuns boozy nights out on the town in preference for nights on the sofa in his pyjamas at home with 27-year-old girlfriend Izzy Johnston, has made it clear to me that he now intends to make a life-long commitment to the woman he describes as his ‘soulmate’.

She will have to put up with seeing her man in the arms of another woman for just a little bit longer, however, because the winning dance partners are the star attraction on the upcoming Strictly tour.

Read Dan Wootton’s Inside The Box column every week in It’s Friday

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Monday, December 19, 2011