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Daily Mirror
Daily Mirror
Entertainment
Louise Lavigueur

Inside Strictly's Tony Adams life - £2m mansion, glam daughter and Ulrika Jonsson spat

England football legend Tony Adams is showing off his foot work of a different kind as he appears on Strictly Come Dancing.

The 56-year-old's stellar football career saw him captained Arsenal in three separate decades after his debut aged just 17.

He captained England and earned 66 caps for his country, and was also skipper of Arsenal.

But despite his footy fame, Tony is fiercely private about his home life.

Let's take a look at what he has let slip since staring in Strictly from his £2million Cotswold mansion to claiming Ulrika Jonsson gave him her number back in the nineties.

Tony Adams has hung on to his place in Strictly for Halloween week (BBC)

£2million mansion

Tony, who is paired with dancing pro Katya Jones, has been so keen to get in those all important rehearsals he invited Katya to his home to fit in their schedule.

The former England captain also showed a glimpse of his £2 Million Cotswolds estate when he shared a shot of him enjoying a meal with his family.

Katya can be seen spinning in the background as Adams, his wife and two kids tuck into a family tea — with even their dog getting in on the gathering.

Tony had five children including glam Amber (@tonyadamsofficial/Instagram)

He sarcastically captioned the clip: "Does @katyajones ever stop?" alongside a string of dance themed emoji's.

Tony's spacious kitchen diner is a vibrant lime green with plenty of pictures hanging on the kitchen walls.

But outside is really where the action happens as the house boasts its own tennis court, stables and paddocks and even welcomed three piglets into the fold.

He has even given one of his pets a moniker after his competition co-star, naming it Kat.

Dating, divorce and glam daughter

Tony has been married to his second wife, Poppy, since 2004 (Andy Barnes / BACKGRID)
He also famously dated Caprice (Dave Benett/Getty Images)

Adams has been married to his second wife, Poppy, since 2004 and has five children, including three with Poppy – Atticus, Hector and Iris.

The sporting star has a son and daughter, Oliver and Amber, from his first marriage to Jane Shea.

He famously dated with Caprice for four month s in 1999.

In his autobiography, Sober, Adams wrote: "I don’t think it was purely physical – and there were plenty who would say I was punching above my weight... I liked her very much. She was an honest and sincere woman. And, I have to say, I felt like a king in the company of this beautiful woman."

Tony's daughter Amber looks suitably stylish in her social media shots (@amberroseadams/Instagram)
Amber looked stunning in her holiday snaps (@amberroseadams/Instagram)

Meanwhile, Tony's daughter Amber leads a glamorous lifestyle away from the family home and often shares snaps of herself jetting off on holiday.

The 27-year-old recently returned from a sun-filled getaway in the Greek island of Rhodes and shared plenty of enviable snaps on Instagram.

Amber is a partnership agent at Digital Icon Agency, which deals with influencer marketing and talent management. After returning from Greece, she was joined by her close friends and co-workers as the group jetted off to Amalfi, Italy.

Ulrika 'upset'

Since appearing on Strictly Adam's has ruffled a few feathers with his recollection of an encounter with Ulrika Jonsson in 1999 — which she says never happened.

Adams has told how he appeared on an ITV chat show in 1999 and claims Jonsson slipped her phone number into his pocket.

But although saying he was 'flattered' he had 'no desire to follow up her interest.'

He explained: ""I was more interested in Caprice, who was Ian [Wright]'s sidekick on the show and who made it plain she was attracted to me."

But Ulrika has since hit back at Tony's claim, telling MailOnline : "There's not an ounce of truth in it, I've never met the guy”.

According to IMDB, Ulrika was not one of the series cast who starred on Friday Night's All Wright with host Ian Wright, as Tony claimed.

Strictly journey

When the show began, the odds on the footie legend winning the competition were 100/1 b (PA)
Katya has worked on Tony's dancing skills (PA)

Tony's start to the show was stuttered, and many feared he wouldn't last long at all, but he has improved week after week.

When the show began, the odds on Adams winning the competition were 100/1 but he has consistently been of the bottom of the leaderboard since week one.

Last Saturday, Tony and Katya, danced a cha cha cha to the iconic Grandstand theme.

Can Tony and Katya survive another week on Strictly? (BBC/Kieron McCarron)

However, the dance failed to hit the mark with judge Shirley Ballas offering up just 4 points with Adams appearing to respond with "Go home Shirley!" when he saw the number of her paddle.

Tony and Katya addressed their low score when they talked about their Halloween Week preparations on Thursday's It Takes Two.

Talking specifically about how he reacts to the judges, Tony told host Janette Manrara: "When they started making comments I got a bit reactive. It is no disrespect to them it is just my way of going 'go away.' I'm a beginner and at times I don't do the right moves and stuff."

Strictly Come Dancing airs on Saturdays and Sundays on BBC One, while spin-off show Strictly: It Takes Two airs on weeknights on BBC Two.

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