BBC’s Strictly Come Dancing star Paul Merson, was unable to join partner Karen Hauer in the It Takes Two studio due to “dad duties”. With his hands full as a father of three, Merson chimed in via video call, infusing some humour into the discussion about his latest dance performance.
Janette Manrara remarked on his paternal obligations: “Paul you’re on dad duties this evening. So you can’t be in the studio this evening, that comes first.” Merson jestingly replied, “Amazing. Just to get a nice dance.”
He then delved into the unexpected elements of the show and how they met his preconceived notions, the Mirror reports.
He said: “Obviously, a BBQ, a vindaloo, and footballs are coming in, and he looks like someone who works on a ship. Yeah, it was nice to dance. I thought Karen deserved that as well, to be fair.”
Merson shared his initial feelings upon joining Strictly, saying: “It felt nice when I first took up the chance to come on to the show. This is what I thought it would be roughly, you know what I mean? So it was nice to get one of those dances in.”
In reference to his previous dance, he reiterated: “When I first took up the chance to come on the show, this is what I thought it would be, roughly.” As he expressed his satisfaction, he added: “It was nice to get one of those dances in.”
To which Janette responded: “You feel like you’ve got the whole Strictly experience with this dance under your belt now.” Looking forward to future performances, Paul acknowledged the shift that awaited him: “Yeah, but now it’s back to reality again this week.”
A Twitter user expressed their criticism of the choreography given to ex-sports stars on Strictly, remarking: “He’s quite right….They need to stop all these stupid dances they give to ex sports people. It’s embarrassing and never works properly. Paul’s dance was far better with the correct music and outfit.”
Echoing the sentiment, another fan posted: “Stop with the joke dances. #ittakestwo #strictly.” Meanwhile, the former Arsenal footballer is still in the running to be dropped from the competition this weekend.
Remarkably, he’s declared that his appearance fee will be handed to his wife, Kate, foregoing personal payment. This choice follows his previous struggles with gambling and alcohol addictions, which had led him to a low point in his life.
As a current Sky Sports analyst, he has been candid about his history of addiction issues involving gambling, alcohol, and drugs.
He believes that participating in Strictly can promote awareness concerning such challenges, commenting: “Being an addict and a recovering alcoholic myself… to show people watching this show who have got addictions, that you can go out and do something like this… is so important.”
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