- Just 5 weeks on BBC dance present and the 20-year-old is a nationwide treasure
With his charming, mega-watt smile, mannequin cheekbones, wavy hair and snake hips, Strictly favorite Bobby Brazier might simply be mistaken for Harry Styles, or perhaps a youthful Mick Jagger.
And it is truthful to say that after simply 5 weeks on the BBC dance present, the 20-year-old is already a nationwide treasure, his cheeky charisma profitable over tens of millions.
Last week’s present noticed viewers fall that little bit extra in love with the 6ft 2in actor and mannequin, as he tightly embraced his diminutive dance associate Dianne Buswell, whose voice cracked with feeling as she described their ’emotional’ week and referred to as him her ‘rock’.
His personal feelings have been evident, too, regardless of scoring a powerful 30 out of 40 for his or her tango to Fashion by David Bowie.
No one’s fairly positive what introduced the pair so near tears, however Strictly is well-known for being a stress cooker of an expertise, the place bonds are made and romance can bloom.
Indeed, it reveals one thing in regards to the dynamic between the pair, who’re sizzling favourites to win the glitter ball this 12 months. Their age hole could also be vital – Australian-born Dianne is 34, some 14 years older than Bobby – however this appeared like a pairing of equals.
But, then once more, Bobby is mature for his years, having needed to develop up quick.
The son of TV presenter Jeff Brazier and the late Jade Goody of Big Brother fame, he was solely 5 when his mom died aged 27, following a really public battle with cervical most cancers.
Even as a toddler, Bobby was a stalwart of OK! journal, the place his mom would often function. His debut got here when he was lower than a month old, showing together with his mother and father, all three of them sporting designer garments.
Jeff and Jade cut up in 2004, not lengthy after their second son, Freddie, now 19, was born. Some will keep in mind Bobby and Freddie making cherubic appearances as web page boys at their mom’s wedding ceremony to boyfriend Jack Tweed only a month earlier than she died in 2009.
After their mom’s loss of life, Bobby and Freddie went to stay with their father, who made vital adjustments to their way of life. Out went the superstar photoshoots – he did not even allow the boys to attend Jade’s very public funeral – and in got here a extra thought of response to their upbringing. Strict authorized notices have been despatched to the Press requesting privateness for the boys so they may develop up away from the glare of publicity.
Jeff raised them single-handedly, earlier than his marriage to PR government Kate Dwyer in 2018. Today, the brothers credit score her for serving to to deliver them up.
Now, 15 years on, Bobby is again within the highlight, and his personal fame has gone far past his mom’s fast notoriety.
It’s maybe simple to neglect how, after her 64-day stint on Channel 4’s Big Brother in 2002, Jade turned probably the most talked-about person within the nation, concurrently adored for her sense of humour and mocked for her ignorance.
She famously admitted she thought ‘East Angular [Anglia]’ was overseas; that Rio de Janeiro was a footballer; Sherlock Holmes invented the bathroom; ‘Pistachio’ painted the Mona Lisa; and Saddam Hussein was a boxer.
While Bobby is way a extra grounded character, because of his father’s regular method to child-rearing, he is actually inherited his mom’s starry enchantment. But make no mistake: for all his seemingly easy appeal, Bobby’s look on Strictly isn’t any accident on the a part of BBC bosses. Rather, I can reveal, it is the fruits of a well-considered, long-term plan for Bobby to change into one of many Beeb’s go-to stars.
I’m informed BBC executives see him as nothing wanting their potential saviour – a one-man answer to maintain the broadcaster related and particularly to get younger viewers tuning in. They are bending over backwards to ship his profession into the stratosphere.
Why? Well, Bobby is equal to superstar royalty for the fact TV watching plenty. He ticks each field for cross- generational enchantment.
With 322,000 Instagram followers and greater than 1 / 4 of 1,000,000 followers on TikTok – the place he provides a behind-the-scenes look into his life and promotes the trendy catnip of ‘optimistic psychological well being and wellbeing’ – youngsters adore him, whereas their moms fondly keep in mind the travails of his personal mom.
As for his or her grannies, effectively, they merely adore his impish grin.
It was after Bobby joined EastEnders final 12 months within the position of Freddie Slater – having a right away impression on viewing figures – after which received a National Television Award for Best Newcomer, that BBC chiefs determined to signal him up for Strictly.
‘Everyone loves him – young folks, old folks, boys, ladies, men and women,’ a supply tells me.
‘There are massive plans for him. He has the flexibility to behave, but additionally participate in digital content material, which appeals to the children. He has change into a star on EastEnders and if the bosses have their means, he’s going nowhere for a really very long time.’
Within the Beeb, Brazier is cited as the rationale why lots of of hundreds of youngsters are actually tuning into EastEnders, the place his character is a cheeky charmer somewhat like himself.
I also can reveal that BBC bosses even broke with custom, following a tug of affection inside the Corporation over whether or not Bobby can be allowed to pause his filming commitments for EastEnders whereas starring on Strictly.
In earlier years, contestants from the cleaning soap have needed to fulfil their gruelling filming schedules, leaving little time to practise for Strictly.
But sources say the BBC is so eager to see Bobby make it to the ultimate that they need him to place his all into the present.
‘Bobby is a celebrity and everybody on the BBC is aware of that,’ says an insider.
‘The BBC knew the nation would fall in love with him and would comply with each second of his Strictly journey.
‘But it may be actually robust doing the present alongside filming for EastEnders, particularly within the run-up to Christmas, and it’s exhausting. The reality EastEnders have let Bobby off means he has a a lot better likelihood of profitable Strictly, which is the purpose right here.’
Some may say the broadcaster has, in impact, skewed the taking part in discipline for Bobby’s victory – however, nonetheless, there isn’t any query that it is a position he’s greater than prepared for. Despite his father’s efforts to maintain him out of the general public eye, he was, you may say, bred for fame in the course of the quick time he had together with his mom.
Bobby says he would not have many recollections of Jade, ‘as a result of I used to be so young when she died’.
That stated, he admits she gave him a style for the highlight, which he says he dreamt about from a young age.
‘I feel that as a child it is all I needed,’ he says. ‘I used to be determined for that after I was younger. I spent a lot time making myself prepared as a result of I began to consider that might occur and I might have that.
‘When I used to be 14, 15 – even 12 – I keep in mind having ideas like that, needs like that. I spent a number of my childhood simply wishing for consideration.’
Losing his mom when he was so young might effectively have destroyed him, however Bobby seems to be the epitome of happiness.
‘I’m all the time dancing round the home and what not,’ he says.
He has a lot to be joyful about, as he’s, say these near him, on the verge of turning into a millionaire.
His father Jeff, 44, could not be prouder, coming near tears when Bobby received massive on the National Television Awards in September. In the Press room afterwards, Jeff — who made his title on the fact TV present Shipwrecked within the early Noughties — informed journalists of his satisfaction that his elder son had grown into such a ‘pretty and superb man’.
Jeff continues to take his position as Bobby’s mentor critically, together with his son admitting: ‘There are many, many, many, many, many, many people who find themselves considering issues via greater than I’m, for my very own good.’
As with any young person, there have been bumps within the highway alongside the way in which – specifically a spell of hassle at his personal college which, by a coincidence, led to Bobby’s massive break.
After misbehaving, {the teenager} had been suspended 3 times in two weeks. Jeff took him to a espresso store close to their Essex home for a stern speaking to. It was there that Bobby’s mannequin seems have been seen by an agent, who occurred to be there, too.
‘On the way in which out of Costa, the casting agent ran up behind me and gave me his card,’ remembers Bobby. ‘Then I went into this assembly with my headmaster with a giant smile on my face.’
Jeff insisted he end his GCSEs earlier than embarking on a profitable profession in catwalk modelling, the place he labored for Italian luxurious manufacturers equivalent to Dolce & Gabbana and Moschino.
Bobby has additionally admitted that he struggled at his fee-paying college due to his Essex accent, and was later bullied as soon as his classmates knew who his mum was.
He stated: ‘At personal college, everybody comes from the identical generationally wealthy households, however my mother and father did not. I’ve acquired perception from each ends of the spectrum, so I felt like I used to be a little bit of a black sheep.’
Today, although, he is very a lot in demand with the women, after not too long ago splitting from on-off girlfriend Liberty Love – a mannequin and the daughter of The Clash videographer DJ Don Letts – shortly earlier than Strictly started
Since then, quite a few members of his military of young feminine followers have been begging him for a date through his social media channels.
But for now, there’s just one lady in his life: his dance associate Dianne. There could also be a 14-year age hole, however the chemistry between them is clear.
However, Dianne is in a relationship with one among her former Strictly companions, Joe Sugg, 32. The couple not too long ago purchased a £2 million home collectively in Brighton.
In recent weeks, although, there have been rumours that each one is probably not effectively between the couple, who met on the present in 2018. Dianne has tried to silence the gossip by posting loved-up messages to web star Sugg on-line.
Meanwhile, Bobby, who seems to have a full deal with on the media recreation, has overtly declared his fondness for his skilled associate, saying: ‘I might talk about Dianne all day. She’s only a diamond. You know what, I’m falling in love along with her.’
And, in response to present insiders, Dianne feels the identical. But then, seeing as she has been paired with the Beeb’s new golden boy, who can blame her
