Last Saturday Strictly Come Dancing launched with a new (socially distanced) look and the highest ratings for three years. One of this year’s sequin-clad contestants is the wild-haired comedian Bill Bailey. On the day he was confirmed as a contestant, Bailey sat down for a chat with Kristin, his wife of 22 years, and they discussed the show’s notorious curse.
“If there are any cracks in your relationship, a suggestive rumba on Strictly will supposedly find you out,” he says. “My wife’s attitude was: ‘Fine. If that’s what happens. Go.’ We’ve been together over 30 years and I’ve done films, plays, dramas, and it can be intense and intimate work, but essentially you are pretending. This is no different, so I’m confident there’ll be no