Strictly Come Dancing star Graeme Hall has revealed he feared he would never dance again after suffering a stroke in February 2019. The Dogfather, as he is known to fans, made a full recovery and is now competing in the BBC show with professional partner Lauren Oakley.
Speaking about his decision to join Strictly, he said in an exclusive interview: "I didn't dance again after the stroke and I just thought that's something that I used to do and that part of life passed me by."
Instant yes to Strictly
He continued: "I've always watched Strictly and there was always the thought that was like, 'Oh, I wonder what it's like being on Strictly, wouldn't it be great?' So when the call came I thought about it for a 10th of a second before I said yes, I was always going to say yes."
During last weekend's live show, Graeme opened up about the stroke with an emotional Couple's Choice performance that he wanted to represent as hope.
An emotional dance
"In terms of the kind of emotions that bring a tear to your eye, I had to struggle to keep it together at the end," he recalled. "It was just a beautiful dance. I've sometimes seen a dance on Strictly and I get a bit emotional. I'm the one in our house who's most likely to shed a tear at a rom-com… but to be dancing a dance that had the same effect on you, yeah, it was very emotional."
"Some of these are different emotions, some are just great fun or exciting, the Samba in particular is a proper show-off dance, but in terms of lump in the throat emotions, nothing will ever top last Saturday."
He added: "In fact, when I came off the floor, Aljaz Skorjanec said to me, 'You keep that dance with you wherever you go, keep it in your heart, and you'll remember it for the rest of your life,' and he's right."
Message of hope
Graeme has been inundated with supportive messages from fans hailing him an inspiration. He admitted feeling grateful for the chance to tell his story: "I joined Strictly for my own reasons, just because I love the show and I love dancing but then I realised that people were getting in touch and saying - and I didn't see this coming - that the dancing inspires them and that it makes them happy and gives them hope."
He added: "I guess they see me dancing and think there is light at the end of the tunnel. So to be able to help other people doing something you love is just great. I really wanted to do that dance justice."
Having seen the reaction from viewers, Graeme said: "It's nice to put a smile on people's faces." He also recalled a message from a head teacher at a school who is recovering from a stroke. "She said she's really going through it, and just watching me gives her hope that there is a light at the end of the tunnel. The message really is to keep going, there is hope. Not everybody sadly makes a full recovery like me, but there's always hope."
Strictly Come Dancing continues tonight at 6.25pm on BBC One and iPlayer.
