Strictly Come Dancing's surprise package, George Clarke, has opened up about his father's apprehension over his deeply personal dance routine and confessed he is no fan of musical theatre as he heads into a crucial week of the BBC competition.
From YouTube to Ballroom Surprise
The 26-year-old content creator from Bristol, who entered the show with no formal dance training, finds himself in the quarter-finals, a scenario he describes as utterly unexpected. George and his professional partner, Alexis Warr, are now considered strong contenders for the final on 20 December, with bookmakers marking it as a two-horse race between Clarke and footballer Karen Carney.
"I don't think any of us expected it," Clarke admitted. "It's still a surprise to me that the judges pull up paddles any higher than five. I'm very happy and appreciate the compliments, but I don't think I'll ever be in a place where I'm like, 'I can dance'.''
His natural modesty belies his success, which includes scoring an impressive 39 for his samba during the Blackpool special. Rumours suggest the pair top the public vote weekly, a fact that still astonishes the TikTok star. "People ask me, 'did you know you were gonna be good?' and my brain is still 'I don't dance, what are you on about?''' he said.
A Dance Dedicated to Family
The performance that held the most significance for Clarke was last month's rumba, dedicated to his family and particularly his mother. His mother was diagnosed with the brain inflammation condition encephalitis a decade ago and has more recently battled cancer. The couple danced to Keane's 'Somewhere Only We Know', a song sung at his grandfather's funeral by his sister.
As an ambassador for Encephalitis International, Clarke wanted to raise awareness. "It wasn't 'woe is me', it was much more that it is such an unknown disease," he explained. "The only people that tend to know about it are doctors and people that it has affected."
The dance scored 29 points from the judges, but to Clarke, it was a triumph. However, his dedication caused worry for his father. "He said 'I dunno why you put so much pressure on yourself - you've already got live TV and a dance that you're not used to,'" George revealed. He was ultimately thrilled by his parents' proud and appreciative reaction.
Confronting Musicals Week
The duo now face Musicals Week, with a place in the semi-final at stake alongside contestants Karen Carney, Balvinder Sopal, Lewis Cope, and Amber Davies. Clarke has already confessed to host Claudia Winkleman that he is not a fan of musical theatre.
"I don't think I've ever actually been to a proper musical," he said. "I feel like the musicals I hated are the ones I've been conned into thinking are just a regular film, and then suddenly they break out into song. And I'm sat there wondering why they're singing about running out of milk or something. It seems really unnecessary."
Despite this, he is enjoying learning the Argentine Tango to 'The Point of No Return' from Phantom of the Opera. "It's very technical. It's very different, but I'm quite enjoying it," he said, acknowledging his own surprise. He remains focused on the performance, not the prospect of winning the Glitterball Trophy. "The only strategy I want is to dance as well as we can," he stated.
Both he and Alexis, 25, are amazed by the competition's pace and have formed a firm friendship. Alexis admitted she will have "withdrawals" when their daily training ends. While George is physically ready for a rest, he says he won't be mentally prepared for it to finish.
Looking beyond Strictly, Clarke plans to keep dancing with his model girlfriend, Yasmin Bennett, and is open to new opportunities like panel shows 'Would I Lie to You?' or 'Taskmaster'. His primary focus will remain on his YouTube career. As for who might replace departing hosts Tess Daly and Claudia Winkleman, he chuckled: "I honestly have not got a Scooby."
Strictly Come Dancing continues on BBC One.
