ITV presenter addresses Loose Women co-star 'joining Strictly Come Dancing line-up'
A familiar face is rumoured to have signed up for the new series of Strictly Come Dancing, and now her former Loose Women co-star Katie Piper has shared some advice
Stacey Solomon is one of the names rumoured to appear on Strictly Come Dancing
(Image: ITV )
Loose Women's Katie Piper has spoken out about the buzz that her former co-star Stacey Solomon is tipped to join the star-studded cast of this year's Strictly Come Dancing.
While the professional dancers for the upcoming series have been unveiled, the BBC has yet to confirm the celebrity line-up, with rumours swirling around names like Dani Dyer, Tom Parker Bowles, Paul C Brunson, and Sir Mo Farah, in addition to Stacey.
Stacey, 35, hasn't addressed the rumours, but Katie who herself took part in Strictly in 2018 and was paired with Gorka Marquez before being the third celeb to exit, has offered some sage advice from her own experience.
In a candid chat, Katie, reflecting on her stint which began just months after welcoming her second child, described the initial training as "hard" but expressed her fondness for the experience.
Although she's only crossed paths with Stacey once and isn't as acquainted with her as other Loose Women panellists are, Katie didn't hesitate to impart some encouragement, urging those set to embark on the Strictly journey to "enjoy it", reports Edinburgh Live.
She enthused about the unique opportunity, saying, "When are you ever going to get the chance ever again to dance with a professional dancer, in front of all those people? Strictly goes all out with the wigs, the makeup, all the costumes."
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Katie appeared on Strictly Come Dancing in 2018
(Image: BBC )
She explained: "So it's quite a unique opportunity to have and to wear all the stuff and seeing pictures and footage of yourself professionally dancing, if that's not your chosen career, it's quite an incredible world to dip into."
Despite her stint on the BBC show, the mother-of-two now finds it challenging to juggle watching the programme with family commitments and her TV roles, including presenting an ITV breakfast show.
Explaining her routine, she said: "I have a breakfast show on ITV and it starts at 8.25am so I'm not really this big Saturday night person," and added how she prioritises time with her children over the weekends, enjoying activities like swimming and lunch out together.
"And then really in the evenings, I have to say, it's like proper mum mode where I'm tidying up, my eldest goes to bed at half eight or nine and I usually go up to bed because then I'm up early."
Katie was partnered with Gorka Marquez on Strictly
(Image: BBC/Guy Levy )
Now that Katie's children are getting older, she's keen on fostering family connection away from the whirlwind of professional and social media engagements, which is why she's collaborating with easyJet on their latest initiative.
easyJet has initiated the "Airplane Mode" campaign aimed at supporting families like Katie's to engage deeply with each other, detached from the distractions of gadgets and everyday stress.
As part of the initiative, the airline has introduced a family card game involving conversation-sparking questions and prompts to share advice and meaningful experiences with each other, that will be handed out for free for families jetting off on holiday, available at airports across the UK from today (while stocks last).
"It's a brilliant initiative and it's so overdue," Katie said. "We all understand the social media dangers for children, and I don't actually think it's all about putting the blame on kids. I think I speak for myself as a mum, we're guilty of always being on our phones and our children wanting to connect with us, and they can't."
Katie is mum to two children and is looking to help the family reconnect with a new campaign
(Image: Katie Piper Instagram )
Katie's concerns about parent-child communication have been heightened by the thought-provoking Netflix series Adolescence and the easyJet campaign.
"You can't just be checking notifications and emails whilst you're trying to get them to confide in you, and you can't just accept them saying 'Oh no, I'm fine' when they get in from school and put their bag down.
"It was one of the most important pieces of television I'd seen in a while, and I got speaking to easyJet quite soon after that about this initiative."
She added: "This is something I feel so passionate about, even if I wasn't doing this campaign."
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The easyJet Airplane Mode card game will be available to customers at UK airports including London Gatwick, London Luton, Bristol, Manchester, Edinburgh and Belfast this summer (while stocks last). Listen to the reflections series of voice-notes from Katie Piper, Jaycie Fry, Will Ainslie and easyJet pilots and cabin crew via SoundCloud .
Strictly Come Dancing returns to BBC One and iPlayer later this year.
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