Chapter 12: the Joanne Saga

My Partner And I

"I may not have won the glitter ball, but I've won something a million times more special..."

Joe's POV

My name is Joe Sugg. I am a vlogger and I am most commonly known online as ThatcherJoe. I am very well-known and popular, especially since my sister Zoe is the famous beauty Youtuber called Zoella. But apparently, I'm also famous in the mainstream media enough to gain a place on the popular yearly TV series in the UK, Strictly Come Dancing. I am joining as one of the celebrity contestants for 2018. It is a bit mad, as I had only ever danced when I'm drunk and doing professional ballroom and Latin dances on national television in front of millions of people was of course out of my comfort zone as I was used to filming my videos in the comfort of my flat in London. But good things can happen if you take a step out of said comfort zone, and I am always open to learning a new skill. Some of my mates will be getting married and stuff soon, so doing the show would be helpful to be good at dance, but obviously not as good that I would show them up. I guess that's guaranteed, as I am sure I will be one of the least good contestants.

It is a pretty big thing on my channel that I am very single. I have never really had a serious relationship before, and it is pretty hard to find someone who can understand my particular kind of humour, as well as having a good one of their own. I have heard that some celebrity contestants that have been on before have got into relationships with the pros on the show, but I doubt that would happen to me. What would those professional dancer girls find attractive about a sparrow-legged guy who doesn't look a day over nineteen who will more importantly most likely be terrible at what they love doing the most and will probably not take them very far in the competition? The woman who gets me as their partner will need the patience of an absolute saint to teach me.

That said, I am going to work hard and improve, as I really want to learn as many dances as I can on the show, and I just really want to get to week nine, as that is the special episode where the remaining couples dance at the Blackpool tower, and getting there is the main reason I decided to go on the show, as when my grandmother was young, she used to dance at Blackpool, and my other grandparents love the show anyway, so it's the nice feeling that they will see their grandson on TV and be so proud of him. I had written a long list of pros and cons, but the pros list had massively outweighed the cons list, and now that I have signed the contract, there was no turning back.

I was in hair and makeup, getting ready to pre-record the first episode. There was no dancing besides the group dances, most of which are done by the pros, but there was one that all us celebs had to join in with. But this episode was mainly the celebs being paired up with their pro dancer partner. There is a meet and greet with the pros as well as a little dance rehearsal so that the producers can get an idea of heights and chemistry between the pros and celebs to get the perfect pairings. I myself am pretty short, so I will most likely be paired with the tiniest female pro, Janette Manrara, a Cuban lady raised in Miami. Only little bits of the meet and greet are filmed to be put on the VT in the launch episode, and I had posted a video a few days ago of the backstage of the rehearsals and getting my first spray tan on Strictly, which happens a lot apparently. I had already struck up good relationships with the pros, but also the other celebs.

I had already known TV's Dr Ranj Singh as we both lived in the same apartment block. I had developed a really strong friendship with a bubbly ginger haired lady named Stacey Dooley, whose documentaries I watch on occasion with my roommate, Byron. There was also a member of the Pussycat Dolls, Ashley Roberts, and a member of Steps, Faye Tozer, whom I had a right old laugh with when I confessed my childhood crush on her. I made sure I took a selfie with her and sent it to my sister. Considering the fact that I was just a guy compared to all these big cheeses in the TV industry, it was daunting that I was going to be sharing the spotlight and competing against them, but there is zero competitiveness between us, more like instant camaraderie and companionship, and they were all really nice guys.