From lions, tigers and bears to the foxtrot, Strictly Come Dancing’s latest signing is swapping Longleat safari park for the salsa.
If you haven’t heard of Viscountess Emma Weymouth, the chef can boast of living in a 130 room, £190million estate in a safari park in Wiltshire - which she plans to use as a rehearsal space.
“I’ll be training as much as I can there,” she says. “It’s going to be a challenge, but we have factored in the fact that we live in the country.”
Mum of two Emma says her family love living at Longleat, which her husband Ceawlin is heir to, telling BBC Radio London: “It’s such a treat to go to see wonderful, exotic animals every day.”
Emma’s wedding to husband Lord Weymouth caused controversy with the British aristocracy, when her father-in-law - the Marquess of Bath - boycotted the nuptials after a falling out over the removal of some risque murals Lord Bath painted that had previously hung at Longleat.
(A “Karma Sutra” room remains, adorned with images of Lord Bath’s “wifelets”.)
In 2015, Ceawlin claimed his mother Anna had said his marriage to half-Nigerian Emma would affect “400 years of bloodline” - something Lady Bath denied saying, insisting she isn’t a racist.
The family’s feud emerged as the BBC aired a 2015 documentary, All Change at Longleat.
Emma joins BBC Breakfast’s Mike Bushell, former Corrie star Catherine Tyldesley, former England goalie David James, comedian Chris Ramsey, Eastenders star Emma Barton, CBBC’s Karim Zeroual and YouTuber Saffron Barker in this year’s lineup.
