EastEnders star Jamie Borthwick shares his one demand for Strictly Christmas

20 December 2023 , 23:13

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Jamie hopes to dazzle with his performance

EastEnders star Jamie Borthwick says he's hoping to impress one particular judge Strictly Come Dancing judge with his dance moves in the Christmas special episode.

The actor, 29, was announced as one of the celebrity contestants featuring in the festive special. He will follow in the footsteps of his co-stars including James Bye and Davood Ghadami, who have had successful stints on the show. Jamie and his partner Nancy Xu will be performing the quickstep to Shakin' Stevens' Merry Christmas, Everyone in a bid to be crowned Christmas Champion 2023.

Ahead of his performance, Jamie revealed what he is looking forward to the most, which is receiving a negative comment from Craig Revel Horwood. He said: "I hope the judges will be a bit easier on me, I can’t come back and improve every week to work on my frame or foot work, and I’m sure they’ll see its Christmas and we’re all novices. But, I feel that if I don’t get something negative from Craig, then I haven’t had a Strictly experience.'

Jamie says his Strictly experience won't be the same without a harsh comment from Craig (BBC)

Nancy added: "He will be very merry with you, it’s Christmas time', while Jamie gushed: "I want him to have a go at me. Give me some criticism.'" The Jay Brown star also shared that he decided to join the show on a whim, because he is 'trying to say yes to more things.'

He explained: "I was having a conversation the week before I got offered the job that I was going to stop saying no to things, and then the next day this opportunity came up, and I thought I better put this into practice. And I thought about it and I said yes. And I thought this is fun, its Christmas, I don’t have to come back every week and improve.'

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"We’ve had such a laugh, but when it’s time for us to work we do what we need to do. But it’s so important we have a laugh. I’ve tried to absorb as much as I can while we’re together. The couples dancing, and rehearsing with all of the others really has been such a thrill.'

The actor has been spending his last few days in the studio training and says he is enjoying the process so far. Speaking about his experience in an interview with the BBC, he said: "I think I am quite a quick learner, remembering the steps I find relatively simple, but mastering them is a whole other level.

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Ayaan Ali