Masked Dancer winner Louis Smith says it was agony keeping his victory secret for a month
THE Masked Dancer winner Louis Smith has revealed the agony of having to keep his victory as Carwash secret for a whole month.
He described the rollercoaster ride of scooping the show’s first win before returning to change the nappies of his daughter Marley, who was born in February.
Speaking for the first time since his triumph, Louis said: “It’s bonkers being a part of that show, winning and then you come home the next day and can’t tell anyone.
“It’s almost like the night didn’t exist and I was back to changing nappies and ripping toilets out and ripping up smelly carpets at the property we were developing.
“It was surreal and it’s only now that I can talk about it and share the experience.
“It was an emotional rollercoaster — up here one minute, then the next day you’re back to normal life and no one knows the show exists.”
The Olympic gymnast beat EastEnders star Bonnie Langford, aka Squirrel, and Take That’s Howard Donald as Zip in Saturday night’s final on ITV.
His moves certainly impressed judges Oti Mabuse, Davina McCall, Holly Willoughby and Mo Gilligan.
Louis, who won Strictly Come Dancing in 2012, had to overcome an unusual childhood fear — yes, of car washes — to become a champion again.
He said: “I was always nervous going through the car wash when I was young.
“It was always a bit of a scary experience. It used to feel claustrophobic.
“Maybe there’s a few kids out there in the country that felt the same way. Hopefully I’ve changed their minds.”
He’s an inspiration.
Daisy’s star gazing
AFTER the down-to-earth drama of Normal People, Daisy Edgar-Jones returns to the extra-terrestrial in the second season of War Of The Worlds.
A new run of the sci-fi reboot hits Disney+ on July 16, with Daisy – who co-starred with Paul Mescal last year in BBC Three’s Normal People – back as Emily Gresham.
She seems to have a special connection to the alien invaders. But are the attackers actually human?
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JEFF Lowe, who found fame in the smash-hit Netflix documentary Tiger King, was arrested for drink-driving in the early hours of Saturday morning in the US.
The controversial cat fanatic, who owns Joe Exotic’s zoo these days, underwent a sobriety test before being taken into custody.
Russell: My prize surprise
RUSSELL Howard had a surreal two weeks of quarantine in a New Zealand hotel before filming his Sky One show Russell Howard: Stand Up To The World.
Speaking on Radio 2, he said: “You’re not allowed to do anything for two weeks. It was this kind of mini-prison before you got into paradise.
“Every day they’d give us a daily quiz and everyone in the hotel could take part.
“The prize if you won the quiz was an extra night’s stay at the hotel.
“The second prize was two tickets to my show I was doing on the second day out of lockdown – and I won the quiz one night. So we didn’t sell one of the gigs out because we were waiting for me to turn up to watch me.”
Towie Dan’s no doctor
TOWIE’S DAN Osborne has told his followers on social media he is anti-vaxxer, bizarrely insisting the country’s vital vaccination programme to combat coronavirus is “all about the money.”
Dan also claimed neither he nor the two children he shares with his wife, actress Jacqueline Jossa, would be having the potentially life-saving jabs.
He said: “Personally, that s**t isn’t even going in me, never mind my kids.
“People, do your research. It’s not good.”
He’s right, people. Do your research.
That means looking at the science, instead of listening to wacko conspiracy theories.
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JOSH Widdicombe has become a dad for the second time, the comedian has announced, four years after his wife Rose gave birth to their first.
Speaking on Channel 4’s The Last Leg, Josh said: “I’ll take you through the whole story: I’ve had a baby, I can’t sleep and I wish I hadn’t had a baby.”