Jamie Borthwick has confessed to feeling anxious ahead of this week’s Strictly Come Dancing episode.
The actor from EastEnders is competing in the current run of the BBC’s dance contest, partnered with Michelle Tsiakkas. They breezed through the previous week with a Rumba and are now gearing up to perform the Quickstep.
Yet Jamie faces added stakes as he previously performed the Quickstep during the Christmas special, clinching the Glitterball Trophy. During an appearance on Thursday’s Good Morning Britain, Michelle remarked: “We’ve got the Quickstep this week, which he won the Christmas special with,” Jamie interjected: “That means there’s extra pressure this week,” followed by Michelle’s comment: “It needs to level up.”
Michelle also spilled the beans on what the audience should look forward to, stating: “We’ve got more technique in there, more difficult elements in there.”
Reflecting on his journey to Strictly, Jamie shared that he almost joined the show some years ago but was reconsidered following his successful stint in the festive edition. He recounted: “I went and spoke to Strictly in 2018 when you go and have an audition with the lovely Amy Dowden. We didn’t do it that year. When the Christmas show came around, I was like – well that’s not that bad. I did the Christmas show, loved it. Enjoyed every second and I was hoping they would ask me to do the main show.”
Reminiscing about the Christmas special, he added: “When we did the Christmas special, I thought I can’t do this – but then the music happened and you just go. I thought it was bad on the Christmas show but the live show is wow!”
In a recent conversation with The Mirror, Jamie dismissed the notion of a Strictly curse, likening Michelle to a sibling. He stated: “The idea of that whole Strictly curse, well it’s definitely not going to be a thing here because it would be weird doing that with my sister. Michelle and I met before Strictly and we instantly had a connection. But she is like a sister, an aunt, a mum, a best friend. She’s looking after me, she’s mothering me.”
Jamie also expressed admiration for Michelle’s boyfriend, saying: “Her boyfriend doesn’t know it yet because we’ve never met, but he’s my rock already. I’ve been looking him up, watching him dance on his shows and I’m like, ‘Mate, you’re my icon’. He’s an absolutely fantastic dancer.”
Additionally, Jamie confessed that the demands of Strictly had already taken a toll on him, as he juggles rehearsals with his long-standing role on the BBC soap. Having previously competed on the Christmas edition, Jamie noted that the full live show is a vastly different experience, reports the Express.
“Everyone’s really making that known but this is a totally different ballgame. Compared to this, Christmas was an absolute doddle. Me and Nancy (Xu) were there for two weeks to learn one dance. It was brilliant but it was so easy peasy. And the Christmas show is a little bit more light hearted than the main show,” he said. “I only scored a 40 because it was Christmas. I’m being real, it’s just my view on this whole ‘Jamie’s done the Christmas show so he’s got an advantage’. Everything I learnt at Christmas I’ve completely forgotten. And the reality of doing the main show has hit me like a ton of bricks. I’m going to bed counting steps, it’s always on my brain.”
*Strictly Come Dancing airs Saturdays and Sundays on BBC One and BBC iPlayer.