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Will Mellor has revealed how his dad inspired him to agree to the daunting challenge of Strictly Come Dancing.
The Coronation Street star has become a firm favourite with viewers this series following a series of strong performances with professional partner Nancy Xu.
He’s never been one to shy away from expressing his emotions, wearing his heart on his sleeve just weeks ago by tearing up after dedicating his dance to men struggling with their mental health.
Now, the northern actor has shared that, despite how physically demanding Strictly can be, it’s all worth it for a personal reason.
Speaking on The One Show on Friday (November 4), Will joked with host Ronan Keating that his feet look like ‘a Blue Peter project’ after being bandaged up so much.
‘You are pushing your body every week, but there’s an important reason why you’re doing it, right?’, asked the Irish presenter.
The Strictly star was inspired to say ‘yes’ to more things after his dad’s death (Picture: PA)
‘Yeah, it’s weird how, when you lose somebody, and I lost my dad in 2020, my mindset just changed,’ Will admitted.
‘I just thought, you’ve gotta grab life, you’ve gotta say yes to more things, you’ve gotta step out your comfort zone and try and turn this horrible negative thing into a positive and come out with it like, right, dad, I’m gonna do more things and I’m gonna do it in your name.’
He declared: ‘I’m gonna go live life and that’s all I can do.’
On how Strictly has been a beloved show in his family for a long time, he continued: ‘It’s my mum’s favourite show and she’s had such a tough time of it, and she looks forward to it every week, with her Team Will t-shirt on, and if I can put a smile on her face after everything she’s been through, then that’s enough for me.’
Will wants to put a smile on his mum’s face (Picture: Will Mellor)
‘Honestly, this has just been a great thing after such a sad time for us. It’s a real positive thing,’ he concluded.
Will’s dad, Bill, died two years ago, just weeks after being diagnosed with cancer.
Due to the Covid pandemic, he wasn’t able to grieve properly with his loved ones, previously recalling on Loose Women how painful it was, not being able to hug his parents during lockdowns.
The Coronation Street star has been a hit with viewers (Picture: PA)
‘It just ripped us apart, especially in these circumstances. It’s never a good time to lose somebody like that. I couldn’t even hug him or hug my mum,’ he said.
Recalling one of his last conversations with his dad, the Broadchurch actor shared: ‘He sat in a chair outside the back door and I sat up the garden and I didn’t hug him because of the Coronavirus thing and he passed away without me doing that.
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‘He actually said to me, “If I got hold of you, I wouldn’t be able to let go.” That was one of the last things he said to me and it absolutely killed me.’
Following their terrifying zombie routine for Halloween week, this Saturday Will and Nancy will tackle the quickstep to Soda Pop by Robbie Williams and Michael Bublé.
The One Show airs at 7pm, weekdays on BBC One.
Strictly Come Dancing airs Saturday and Sunday on BBC one.
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He wanted to turn the negative into a positive.
