Exclusive: Louis Smith On How Strictly Changed His Life Forever

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A decade on from his triumphant turn on the dance floor, the 2012 Strictly Come Dancing champion looks back on his experience.

The Olympic gymnast was cast on the BBC show fresh off the back of his success at the London 2012 Games, and his partnership with professional dancerAdvertisement

“There was an opportunity to go in for a meeting and that was before London 2012, so I went in, spoke to them, cracked a few jokes and had a laugh and showed them what I was about. Then I went off to the Olympics, competed, and then we won the bronze in the team event,” he continues. “It was a transition I really struggled with initially,” he says. “Usually when I did interviews, it was with very Oxford University sports journalist-type people, who would literally quote you word-for-word and I could spiel off all this stuff and not worry about my words being twisted.

When he and Flavia reached the final alongside Girls Aloud star Kimberley Walsh and Pasha Kovalev and TV presenter Denise Van Outen and James Jordan, they were the only couple of the trio not to have previously landed in the bottom two. And then something happened that completely sealed their victory – their Showdance.d routine – a nod to Louis’ sporting background – was unlike anything ever seen on Strictly at that moment in time.

Flavia was cautious due to Showdances usually being “slap, bang, wallop, lifts, sparkles and cannons” but went to speak to bosses, and they were soon on board. However, this meant Flavia had to go back to the drawing board with what she’d originally had in mind.“All the planned lifts couldn’t really be used, as it wouldn’t fit the slow tempo of the music,” Louis explains.

While Louis might have opened Strictly up to new ideas, the show also awakened a whole new passion for him too, with the athlete going on to hone his performance skills in a West End production of Rip It Up at the London Palladium alongside fellow Strictly alum“One of the things I’m most proud of is going into the performing arts and musical theatre side of things, which I never really saw myself being part of,” he says.

 

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