Fleur East reveals the biggest challenge she's faced on Strictly Come Dancing: 'It's something I've never done'

Virgin Radio

3 Nov 2022, 14:41

Strictly Come Dancing's Fleur East says forgetting about all her performance experience and taking on board new dance moves has been the trickiest bit of being in the competition.

The singer was in the dance-off yet again during Halloween week, but impressed the judges enough to keep both her and dance partner Vito Coppola in the competition. 

Prior to Strictly, Fleur came in second place on The X Factor before landing a record deal and releasing her debut album, Love, Sax and Flashbacks, in 2015.

The Sax hit-maker naturally knows a thing or two about choreography and performing given her pop stardom experience, but according to Fleur herself, having some dancing knowledge can actually be a hindrance. 

When asked what the biggest challenge on Strictly has been so far, Fleur told virginradio.co.uk “It's unlearning everything that I know to be honest. I've never had any dance training, I haven't been to stage school. Everything I've learned singing, it's just from watching or just winging it and just doing what I feel. 

“I've come to [Strictly] and you have to be so disciplined and so trained, and your foot has to be here and your arm, and all that stuff I'm really not used to. All the rhythms I know, it's completely different when you have to count all the ballroom styles. So that's been the hardest challenge.”

Fleur added that the intensive training and the live shows is putting quite a strain on her body as the discipline needed is “something I’ve never done.”

“It was quite scary before and it's exposing,” Fleur continued. “Because you're standing there, having to perform to millions of people, to do something you're not comfortable doing. But it’s making me a little bit stronger each time I think.”

Fleur will be hoping for some more good luck this weekend as we go into Week 7. The duo will be performing a Waltz to I Guess That’s Why They Call It The Blues by Elton John.

Ahead of the live show on Saturday (5th November), the BBC series has confirmed what our couples will be dancing to this week, and as there’s no theme, we've got quite an interesting mix.

We’ve got a rumba to Alone by Heart, a Salsa to I Know You Want Me by Pitbull and a Charleston to Too Darn Hot by Kiss Me Kate, to name a few.

Strictly Come Dancing continues on Saturday on BBC One at 7pm.