Strictly Come Dancing newbie Bobby Brazier found himself on the receiving end of a grilling from Tyler West on Monday (September 18), after kissing his girlfriend, Molly Rainford on-screen.
Recent EastEnders scenes saw Bobby’s character, Freddie Slater, smooch Molly’s Anna Knight in Albert Square, resulting in an hilarious exchange on ITV’s Lorraine. Tyler, who starred on Strictly star himself last year told Bobby – the son of Jeff Brazier and the late Jade Goody : “Your EastEnders character actually kissed the character of my real life girlfriend Molly but on this show!” It prompted Bobby, 20, to quip: “She kissed me!”
Presenter Tyler, 27, continued: “We’ll talk about that later. But are you open to love on or off the show? What’s your type?” Bobby cheekily responded: “[Molly’s character] Anna.” Molly, meanwhile, has revealed to the Mirror that she has been giving Bobby some dance tips after finishing as a runner-up on the BBC show in 2022 – four places ahead of Tyler.
Bobby’s Freddie Slater is smitten with Molly’s Anna Knight
“I had no idea Bobby was going for Strictly but when I found out, straight away I was showing him the frame. I joked to him, ‘How about we practice together and then you say I taught you everything you know’. So that’s what’s happening – though of course his pro partner [Dianne Buswell] may say different.
“My advice to him was just to enjoy it and take it all in, and to expect it to be tougher than you thought. The work that goes in is much more than I expected… the routine you perform on Saturday definitely doesn’t look like that on Monday. So I said to him, ‘You will have to take it a bit seriously at times. If you want Shirley to notice the technique, you have to give it some welly.
“But I’m sure he will work hard because he’ll want to get things right. He has the drive for it. He can come across as very laid-back but on set at EastEnders, he’s so focused and wants to get the scenes right. I’m going to have major FOMO [fear of missing out] watching him perform though. The show is so hard physically, but even with all the ice baths in the world, I would still do it every year if I could.”
Tyler and Molly confirmed they were an item in March 2023
While reports have raged that Bobby is an early favourite to win, and that Strictly professionals had been squabbling over who should be paired with him, the rising star has himself confessed to never watching the show. Bobby said whilst he’d been waiting for BBC bosses to call him to take part in the series, he’d never actually tuned in.
Asked what made him want to take part, the actor gushed: “I was always going to say yes, whether it was this year, last year, the next year because I love dancing. That’s it – whether it was on TV or not, the opportunity to dance with a professional dancer, and learn a different style of dancing every week is just my idea of a good time.”
But when questioned, ‘Are there any memorable or standout moments for you, from previous series?’ the star unashamedly answered: “I’ve never watched the show, so I’ll be coming in fresh! I just love dancing so if I’m at a party, I dance, if I’m at home I dance…I’m always dancing.”
