Strictly Come Dancing is heating up as the competition gets more fierce, and all the contestants have everything to play for as the show's final gets that bit nearer. And ahead of Graeme Swann's performance on Saturday night, which saw him only manage to score 24 points from the judges, the former cricketer revealed that he has made a big change to the way he views the competition. While he took the show's role as the comedy act at the beginning, Graeme is now wanting to put everything he can into the contest. Talking on It Takes Two, Graeme confessed: "My competitive juices are now flowing. It was all a bit of a laugh and a joke for long, and it was all just fun. But it's become serious now."
Graeme Swann is now wanting to win Strictly
Graeme added that behind the scenes, the atmosphere has also changed somewhat as everyone is trying their best to bag a top score. "It's become serious now," he said. "No one talks to you anymore, it's only Charles Venn who smiles. You can feel that everyone wants to win the whole competition, so why not? I want to as well." Graeme and his dance partner Oti Mabuse unfortunately failed to impress with their Quickstep to The Andrews Sisters' Sing Sing Sing on Saturday, which saw them dress up in sailor costumes as they hit the ballroom floor. Craig Revel Horwood didn’t mince his words as he told Graeme that it was like "watching the scarecrow from The Wizard of Oz," while Bruno Tonioli offered words of encouragement, telling them: "I'm sure if you had another opportunity, you'd do it better."
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Graeme and dance partner Oti Mabuse on Strictly
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Former cricket star Graeme revealed last month that Strictly had helped him fill the void since he retired from the sport, and that he was also wanting to make his family proud. The doting dad-of-three said during an appearance on Loose Women that he is always thinking of his children when he takes to the dance floor. "I wore pink as I knew Charlie would love that. And when I was Spiderman I knew Wilfred would love my outfit." While Graeme is always staying in touch with his children during training, he also joked that now whenever they FaceTime, they just want to speak to Oti.
Graeme and Oti spoke to HELLO!
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