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Jaime Winstone has revealed an unlikely A-lister unwittingly convinced her to sign up for Strictly Come Dancing after a chance encounter at a pal’s birthday.
The 40-year-old actor is one of the 15 celebrities getting their dancing shoes on for this year’s series, alongside the likes of ex-Love Islander Dani Dyer, former footballer Shaun Wright-Phillips and EastEnders star Lacey Turner.
Speaking ahead of her debut in next Saturday’s (19 September) launch show, Winstone said she received two “clear signs” that she should sign up – including an in-person comment from Taylor Swift.
Asked what made her say yes when approached by the BBC, Winstone explained: “A lot of people in my life know how much I love dancing – music and dance is such a big part of who I am.
“There were some clear signs that this should be my Strictly year – one of them being Madonna’s new album and its track [“Danceteria”] with the lyrics ‘everybody get up and dance’. I took that as a personal sign as I’m such a huge Madonna fan – there’s not a room in my house without a disco ball!”
(BBC/Ray Burmiston/BBC Creative)
Winstone continued: “Another very clear sign came when I went to my friend Poppy Delevingne’s birthday party a few months back, and Taylor Swift was there!
“I was just dancing as I do, and she came up to me out of nowhere and just said, ‘Oh my lord, how do you dance so freely?’
“When someone of her calibre and status says that, it’s a very clear sign! I’ve done every sort of gritty drama you possibly could do, and I usually play people quite a lot older than me, and I just thought: this is the time to step into a realm that I don’t know, which is the ballroom, and give it a real good go.”
Delevingne, the older sister of model Cara, held a star-studded 40th birthday bash in London back in May. Swift attended with her then-fiancé Travis Kelce and the eclectic guestlist also included princesses Beatrice and Eugenie, Pam & Tommy actor Lily James and Elvis director Baz Lurhmann.
Swift unwittingly had a hand in Winstone’s decision (Getty)
Strictly will look a little different when it returns to BBC One later this month, as this series will mark the first in 11 years without Tess Daly and Claudia Winkleman at the helm.
The long-time presenters stepped down at the end of last year’s series and have been replaced by former Big Brother host Emma Willis, comedian Josh Widdicombe and dancer Johannes Radebe.
The line-up of professionals shepherding the celebrities through their Strictly journeys has also faced a shake-up, with five dancers – including fan favourites Karen Hauer and Gorka Marquez – leaving, making way for five new faces.
Strictly Come Dancing returns to BBC One and iPlayer on Saturday 19 September.