George Clarke has admitted feeling 'pressure' backstage before his latest Strictly Come Dancing routine. The 25-year-old YouTube star scored 29 for a Rumba on Saturday's show, dancing with professional partner Alexis Warr to Lily Allen's cover of Keane's Somewhere Only We Know.
The song choice was deeply personal for Clarke, as his sister performed it at their grandfather's funeral. Speaking about his parents' reaction, he said: 'They were unbelievably proud of me. I went over and gave them a hug and my dad was like 'I don't know why you've put that pressure on yourself, that's insane' but he was very happy.'
Clarke acknowledged that his performance did not match his rehearsals but said he made peace with it. 'I think I definitely felt myself doing it not as well as I'd done it in the past but it was the first time I'd looked past that and was completely okay with the feeling of how it went,' he told It Takes Two.
Earlier, on This Morning, Clarke explained the inspiration: 'My sister sang Somewhere Only We Know at my grandad's funeral. My mum has had a lot of trouble in the last 10 years so I thought it'd be nice to use this platform to devote something to her.'
Despite his self-doubt, Clarke has been tipped to win the series. Celebrity and PR expert Kayley Cornelius said his social media savvy gives him an advantage, noting his 2.4 million TikTok followers and the new online voting system. 'George is doing Strictly more of a favour than Strictly is doing George,' she added.
