Will Mellor has plotted a Rocky road to Glitterball glory by taking inspiration from his favourite movie character.
The Strictly ace thinks the tale of underdog boxer Rocky Balboa, played by Sylvester Stallone in the 1976 film, resonates with his own life story.
He said: “I love the story of someone coming from nothing and making a success of life because that’s sort of how I grew up.
“I grew up with this dream in my mind, on an estate in a place where no one did this, and really believed in myself.
“I had support from the family but people would put me down… but saying you can’t do something only makes me stronger.”
Will, 46, who found fame in sitcom Two Pints of Lager… and later in soaps, says he watched Rocky many times as a kid.
He added: “I used to even make films on a little camcorder and film myself doing Rocky stuff. I used to box when I was very young and it was a big part of my life.”
Last weekend Will and Nancy Xu got a score of 26 for their salsa to Never Too Much by Luther Vandross.
Judge Anton Du Beke said he had a “great feel” but added his posture needed work.
This weekend is Movie Week and Will and Nancy will dance an American Smooth to Solomon Burke’s Cry to Me as featured in the 1987 movie classic Dirty Dancing.
On Sunday Loose Women star Kaye Adams, 59, became the first star to depart the show.
She said after losing the dance-off to Bros singer Matt Goss: “I’m not a dancer, which is perfectly obvious. I gave it everything.”
Singer and BGT finalist Molly Rainford, 21, topped the leaderboard with a quickstep.
It comes as Craig Revel Horwood has admitted he turned “very nice” in the first Strictly Come Dancing episode of the series to give the “poor celebrities” some confidence - but he is now back to his no-nonsense self.
The show judge, 57, has previously been branded Mr. Nasty for his blunt opinions of the celebs’ routines and often scores lower than his fellow panellists, Shirley Ballas, Motsi Mabuse, and Anton Du Beke.
But on the first live show of the series last month, he awarded Loose Women anchor Kaye Adams six points when the other judges gave her five points, and he doled out a six to EastEnders star James Bye when only Anton gave the same score, with Motsi and Shirley awarding a five.
However, Craig - who gave five celebrities scores of just four points on last Saturday’s episode - insists he was only being generous on week one because he was “so excited” that the show had returned.
He said: “You may have noticed in the first live show that I was very nice - by my standards.
“I thought I’d go in light, give the poor celebs a bit of confidence (and a false sense of security!) - but as you see, I’m back to usual. I was just in such a good mood, I was so excited to be back.”
Wildlife presenter Hamza Yassin, 32, was the surprise performer in week one, topping the leaderboard - alongside former Hollyoaks star Will Mellor - with a score of 34 points out of 40 for his Foxtrot, including an eight out of 10 from Craig.
But the judge is now wondering whether the Countryfile host - who was awarded 24 points for his and pro dancer Jowita Przystal’s week two jive - has past dance experience or if he is “just a genius”.
He said: “Hamza is blowing me away. Either he’s had dance experience or he’s just ... a genius!
“He’s doing proper heel leads, and now he’s shown he can do Latin, too. Some people do surprise you. His dancing isn’t flashy, it’s just technically brilliant. Just wow.”
Craig has confessed he expected Hamza’s Countryfile co-star Helen Skelton,
39, to be “pretty bad” on the show, but he has been pleasantly surprised by the former Blue Peter presenter - after scores of 26 and 27 - and he has also praised Ted Lasso actress Ellie Taylor. 38.
In a column for Best magazine, he added: “I thought Helen Skelton was going to be pretty bad, saying she had no grace, but she’s doing really well. Ellie Taylor, too - she’s got a fantastic sense of humour and looks great.
And Jayde Adams and Karen [Hauer] - what a dynamic duo.
“Jayde says she’s excited to throw Karen about the place. Bring it on.”
