Debbie McGee's Strictly diary: 'I can't believe that I'm doing this at my age'
Our columnist on that daring lift, preparing for Blackpool, and how Strictly has made her strong again
The excitement for Blackpool has begun! And the jokes have started… I must have had at least 30 messages from my friends saying not to forget my Kiss Me Quick hat and to make sure that I buy a stick of rock. It’s a really fun place and we’re doing a great party dance – the samba.
We’re performing to songs by the Spice Girls, and, to be honest, it’s a bit crazy. I’m dancing on a podium for a start! And because the Tower Ballroom has a large dancefloor we’ve got four extra dancers in our routine. So yes, I’m going to be a Spice Girl. I can’t believe I’m doing this at my age, but I’m having fun and I’m a big fan of the Spice Girl that I’ll be playing.
We’ve also got two big group numbers this week and I’ve enjoyed watching the professionals at work. But we don’t get much rehearsal time – what I really don’t like is that we only have one run-through in costume. Last week, we had to cut off two rows of frills from my red salsa dress so that Giovanni could safely grab my hand through my legs during our big lift.
When he told me what we were going to do I thought he was joking, but I always trust that he won’t drop me. However, during the live show, as I was being flung in the air, I couldn’t hear my musical cue for when I had to let my hand go, so I just had to guess – it was a bit of a risk really, but I knew I was safe.
I liked the salsa but I wasn’t as focused as I have been, simply because I was enjoying it out there too much! Making those few mistakes has taught me that I need to concentrate. On a similar note, I was impressed with how Ruth [Langsford, who was voted out] coped with catching her hat and cane on live TV. I’ll really miss her…
As the weeks have passed by, I’ve begun to feel like the old Debbie again. I haven’t had to do anything like this since I was young and confident. And I’ve certainly never had to bare my soul like this before. It’s brought back the feeling that I had when I met Paul. We were strong in our partnership and I always had him to hang on to. When he died, I lost that inner strength. Strictly is helping me get back to that strong person I once was.
There are no lifts in our samba this week, and I think I’ll stay away from the rollercoasters. Instead, I’ll have a walk along the promenade and think of Paul, because we had many happy times in Blackpool.
Strictly Come Dancing is on BBC One on Saturday at 6.45pm; Debbie McGee was talking to Rachel Ward
