Debbie McGee talks to her late husband Paul Daniels before she performs on ‘Strictly Come Dancing’.
The 59-year-old TV assistant was left devastated last year when her spouse sadly died from a brain tumour at the age of 77, but she believes she’s done so well on the ballroom and latin series because she feels his presence before every live show and she asks him to give her some "confidence."
Speaking to the Daily Mirror newspaper, she said: "I feel he is with me. When I walk down that studio floor, there is always a moment I think of him. He had so much confidence. I kind of say, ‘Come on, darling, give me some of your confidence’. And it takes away my nerves."
However, although she’s convinced the legendary magician would have loved to watch her perform every week, she thinks he would have pushed her to be better every single week.
She said: "He would love it. He would absolutely love it. He would always have wanted me to do better than I was doing. I could imagine, if Paul was alive and watching me every week, he would give me notes. There is no doubt about that – he would find something"
Debbie has been one of the front runners throughout the entire competition but she has admitted she’s starting to struggle with training now because she’s juggling rehearsals with her panto preparation.
She explained: "I’ve only got Christmas Day off. It’s quite normal in panto. I had the same last year. Christmas Day will be with the family in Surrey at some point or other, with my younger sister Donna and her family and my mum and possibly my brother and his family."