Zoe Ball: 'I was terrified for my father Johnny during Strictly!'
Friday 19 October 2012
Zoe Ball is used to being a shoulder to cry on for Strictly Come Dancing evictees, but on Monday night she had to sit back and watch as her own father was given the boot from the show.
The It Takes Two presenter, who took part in the dance competition back in 2005, admitted it was hard to watch her father, Johnny, go through the ordeal.
“I’d be terrified for him each time he stepped out on the dance floor,” she said. “Strictly is tough.”
“I knew, too, that he could never be accused of not trying hard enough, because he throws himself into everything he does. I am extremely proud of my dad.”
The presenter also added that it was only watching him take part in the competition that allowed her to feel how her family felt for her back in 2005.
“I was so excited for him” explains the star, “He’s always loved an audience.”
But Johnny’s time on the show was fraught with problems, after he broke his partner Aliona Vilani’s foot at the beginning of the competition.
“He didn’t break her foot!” Zoe exclaims. “Her foot turned over while they were rehearsing!”
However this meant Johnny, 74, had to dance with Zoe’s ex partner Ian Waite, something which Zoe describes was “quite special.”
Ball has been married to Norman Cook, aka Fatboy Slim, since 1999. They have two children and live in Hove, near Brighton.
Read more: