Strictly Come Dancing star John Nellis announced he is expecting a child with wife Shannon McMahon during his pre-dance video on the BBC hit contest. The Northern Irish YouTube star and content creator, 33, who is already dad to son Eli, made the revelation before performing a Titanic-themed routine with professional partner Katya Jones.
Emotional family announcement
Speaking to the camera, Nellis said: "The hardest part of my job, and it genuinely breaks my heart, is the amount of time I spend away from family." He added: "I miss my wife more than you can imagine, and my son. And our family's growing. We're having another baby in February. I want a big family. I want big Christmases and big parties like I grew up with more than you can imagine."
Nellis, who married McMahon, also paid tribute to his own parents, describing his childhood as "genuinely the most blessed childhood ever." He shared a memory of his father, saying: "My favourite memory of my dad is more of a feeling, and it's that we were best friends first, and he's my dad second, and that's the truth." He added: "My mom and dad are the most supportive people. Their moral compass is like so well aligned that it realigns those around them. They're just good people."
Fellow contestant moved to tears
Fellow contestant Johannes Radebe said he had been "moved to tears" after seeing the family bond in the clip. After the dance, Nellis again praised his parents and thanked the watch parties his friends were holding.
Dance scores and early doubts
Nellis and Jones's dance was not without issues - he dropped his partner at the end of the routine - but they still scored an impressive 23 points. Shirley Ballas told the pair: "For me, I totally enjoyed it." Craig Revel Horwood was less positive, awarding a lowly four, while Motsi Mabuse gave five and both Shirley and Anton Du Beke awarded seven.
Before week one, Nellis admitted his dancing was so bad that people did not believe he had signed up for the show. He said: "They thought it was a joke, then after convincing them, there were lots of hugs. I also have a very large wider family, so there have been lots of ticket requests!"
