Certain shows have come to signpost our year, whether it’s Bake Off, Strictly Come Dancing or I’m A Celebrity Get Me Out Of Here!, they are cultural markers to greet us when summer ends and autumn begins. This year, that they went ahead in spite of the pandemic felt vital as we languished in lockdowns, isolations and an endlessly depressing news cycle. They have kept us going when we needed comfort the most.
There’s one couple who have straddled both Strictly and I’m A Celeb this year: Tess Daly, who hosts the former, and Vernon Kay, who came third in the ITV reality show on 4 December – and became the heart-throb of this series (TikTok is now flooded with lusty fan videos). Having been together for 20 years, Tess tells Grazia that being separated for three-and-a-half weeks (Vernon had to isolate before joining the camp at Gwrych Castle in Wales) with no mode of communication was difficult. ‘We’ve been together two decades and I can always get hold of him, no matter where he’s travelling [for his presenting work with Formula E], he’s always on the phone,’ says Tess. ‘So that was the most challenging thing. I also began to realise just how much he does at home. I have a new appreciation for Vernon after this experience.’ The best part of his return was getting her ‘Vernon hugs’.
As well as putting the viewing hours in for I’m A Celeb to cheer Vernon on from their Buckinghamshire home, Tess was juggling looking after their two daughters, Phoebe, 16, and 11-year-old Amber, with her own TV commitment: hosting Strictly each week (which meant swapping her loungewear and trainers for heels and sequins). ‘I have been spinning a lot of plates, like every mum. I try to prep a lot of things in advance and be organised, whether that’s meals, school runs, homework plans, plenty of GCSE revision. There’s been a lot going on,’ Tess says, adding that the new normal in the world of Strictly has been tough – including when contestant Nicola Adams and partner Katya Jones were forced to pull out after Katya tested positive for Covid.
Tess adds, ‘There are so many regulations in place, it’s been challenging. But you’ve got to do what you’ve got to do to make the show happen. The effort everybody’s made at any given moment, if you look on that studio floor everybody is distancing, from the cameras, the sound, the floor manager, judges, I’m separate from Claudia and can’t give her a cuddle like I normally would. Everybody is trying so hard, because we have just wanted to keep it on air.’
Had Strictly not gone ahead in 2020, it’s likely that the nation would have been up in arms (when just the show’s start time was jeopardised by the delay in the PM’s address to the nation regarding a second lockdown on 31 October, Tess says the BBC rang Downing Street to say they wouldn’t move Strictly back, and he’d have to air on a different channel). ‘We know it’s bringing joy to many people. It feels like a Covid-free world that viewers can dive into for a time. It’s sparkly, happy, positive – and joy is very much needed, it’s healing.’
Now, Vernon and Tess are gearing up for Christmas with a difference. ‘This year has underlined how important family is. Vernon and I are very pragmatic but there have been a lot of challenges for all of us this year. We’re going to spend quality time together and appreciate what we have – and I can go back to wearing trainers again!’
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