Kym Marsh is very much on her guard against the dreaded curse of Strictly Come Dancing.
That’s the jinx that wrecks the marriages or long-term relationships of celebrity or pro dancers when they get too close to their on-screen partners.
Kym, 46, feels well-protected against that possibility – as her hubby Scott Ratcliff will be joining her every weekend in London when she is due to dance.
But the mum-of-three says soldier Scott will have to fight it out with other family members to join the studio audience.
Kym explains: “He might not be at every show because there’ll be a lot of people wanting to come.
“But he’ll be with me every weekend as that’s when we see each other. He lives and works in the barracks during the week so our weekends will now be here.
“It’ll be nice for him to not make the journey all the way to the north.”
Former Coronation Street star Kym will be splitting her time between her Cheshire home and the Strictly studios.
She and Scott, 34, a major in the Parachute Regiment, wed in October after a four-month engagement.
She later revealed the reason for their haste was because her dad Dave, 77, had been diagnosed with terminal prostate cancer – and it was also his illness that prompted her to finally sign up for Strictly.
Kym, a host on BBC One show Morning Live, says: “I’d been asked to do Strictly before but I never thought it was the right time.
“My dad got diagnosed with untreatable cancer last March and I’ve just decided to grab everything while I can. Without being melancholy, we don’t know how long we’ve got him for so you’ve got to make the most of these situations.
“My dad’s diagnosis does change things. He told me for years, ‘You never know what’s round the corner so grab things with both hands’. But you don’t think about that until an event happens. It makes you look at things differently.
“Also, I’m married to a soldier and this year he’s here, but next year he might be deployed.”
This week the 15 Strictly celebrities – including Bros singer Matt Goss, 53, and TV presenter Helen Skelton, 39 – got their first taste of the experience when they started rehearsing for their group number. For Kym, it was a shock to the system.
She says: “We’re under no illusion – it’s hard work. To say I’m a sweaty mess is an understatement. Everything’s hurting!”
It is 21 years since Kym became a household name, thanks to the ITV talent show Popstars.
She found fame in the band Hear’Say, alongside Myleene Klass, 44, Suzanne Shaw, 40, Danny Foster, 43, and Noel Sullivan, 42.
So does being a former pop star give her an advantage on the Strictly dance floor? Kym thinks not.
“People say I’ve danced before with Hear’Say, but that’s a completely different kettle of fish,” she says.
“That was prancing around on stage – ballroom is so different. It’s so out of my comfort zone.” Kym, who has
children David, 27, Emilie, 25, and Polly, 11, from previous relationships, welcomed her second grandson Clayton into the family just three weeks ago. The first, Teddy, is now two.
“Teddy calls me yaya,” she says. “He did it naturally – it’s Greek for grandma. I chose an alternative name at the beginning because I didn’t want the ‘grandma’ name. I had a meltdown about it!
“But I love being a grandma. My friends said it would change me and it really has. My latest is three weeks old… he’s gorgeous. He lives with me while they’re waiting for their house to go through so I get all the cuddles.
“I’m doing Strictly for all the grannies out there!”
- Strictly Come Dancing will launch on BBC One on Friday at 7pm
