‘I’m one of Strictly’s biggest stars – fans have no idea what I look like’-Pierra Willix-Entertainment – Metro

A Strictly Come Dancing star who has been on the show for 20 years has mainly been heard, not seen, by viewers (Picture: BBC)

He may be one of only a few stars to have appeared on all seasons of Strictly Come Dancing, but even loyal fans of the show might not know what Tommy Blaize looks like.

The singer, whose career spans five decades, joined the BBC dancing series when it began in 2004.

Over the years he’s sung live every week, performing to millions across the country as part of the show’s live band.

But while the spotlight is shone on the celebrity contestants, their dance partners and the judging panel, Tommy is often heard and not seen.

After stepping onto stage for his first solo tour last year though, Tommy admits he’s now more comfortable with the idea of gaining a public profile too.

Despite Strictly now being a regular part of many people’s weekend viewing, when it began, even those who had signed up weren’t that convinced it could go anywhere.

Singer Tommy Blaize has been part of the live band since the show started in 2004 (Picture: Tabatha Fireman/ Getty Images)

‘I don’t think any of us thought it would last this long. I remember speaking with Len (Goodman) on the opening show and he came up to me and said, “what are you doing next week?” and saying he didn’t think the show was going to last long,’ Tommy told Metro.

‘It’s one of those things we laughed about for years and years after…and now it’s 20 years later.’

Although Tommy said Len, who died last year aged 78, did ‘eventually take back’ his original comments, they used to ‘jest about it quite a lot’.

Now, even after 20 years in the job, Tommy admitted each week could still be ‘nerve wracking’.

‘I am lucky to be in a gig where we play to millions of people a week and you are bound to be nervous, but it’s a positive energy,’ he explained.

Len Goodman once told him the show ‘wasn’t going to last’ (Picture: PA)

Each week Tommy, the other singers and the band learn up to 18 songs, practicing them around 10 times each.

‘It can be completely bonkers and sometimes we get earworm and can’t get rid of certain songs,’ he revealed.

At times the inevitable has happened, disaster has struck, and he’s lost his voice, but the demands of the job means Tommy needs to ‘struggle on through’.

Although those involved in Strictly are often heaped with praise, some viewers do dish out harsh opinions about the performances of not only the dancers, but the singers too.

However, Tommy said he ‘tends to take no notice of it as well because I am so focused on what I’m doing’.

One of Tommy’s most memorable moments came this season from Chris McCausland and Dianne Buswell (Picture: Guy Levy/ BBC/ PA Wire)

‘I think when social media first came out, we would look at it but then I realised I needed to get on with work and not listen to what people out there are saying,’ he added.

There’s significant pressure on Tommy and his team to get everything right each week, however one of his ‘biggest fears’ over the years has been tackling songs in other languages.

‘I’ve sung in Korean, German, Spanish, French and even Tamil which was brilliant and challenging,’ he recalled.

‘When you get the songs, you think you’ll never be able to do it but get it after hours and hours and it comes alive with the band.’

Although Tommy said he sometimes worried he might slip up and say the wrong word or pronounce it incorrectly, it’s a challenge he relishes.

He was also touched by performances by Rose Ayling-Ellis, who won the 2021 season (Picture: PA)

As Tommy describes it, he has ‘the best seat in the world’ when getting to be front and centre seeing the couples take to the dancefloor.

It was a performance from just a few weeks ago that he singled out when asked what had been some of the most memorable for him.

‘I am a massive Liverpool fan, and I had the chance to sing You’ll Never Walk Alone for Chris McCausland and Dianne Buswell and it was a beautiful moment,’ he said.

‘It was arranged into a waltz version of the song and the point where they separated, and he walked alone, and they came back and met each other – that was really something special. That got to me, and it was really hard to sing through that.’

That performance earned the couple a score of 35 from the judges.

Tommy also said the moments where the music stopped during Rose Ayling- Ellis’ time on the show in 2021 was ‘really powerful’.

The move was done in a tribute to the deaf community, with the EastEnders actress being deaf since birth.

However, there’s also been some jaw-dropping moments where things have gone very wrong.

In a 2006 episode of Strictly, cricketer Mark Ramprakash and his dance partner Karen Hardy were forced to stop their performance after their microphones became tangled in their clothes.

‘There is always a wardrobe malfunction,’ Tommy said.

‘Bruce (Forsyth) rescued the situation as he would do. That happened in front of the whole nation. You could see there was a problem and I’m looking at Dave (Arch, the show’s musical director) wondering if we should stop the music, and we eventually did

‘Bruce ran on and rescued them and then we were allowed to start again. Moments like that – it’s live TV – we expect things like that to happen.’

Last year Tommy was convinced it was time to step out solo on stage, performing 51 shows around the country, with others now scheduled for 2025 too.

‘It was something I wasn’t sure I wasn’t going to enjoy, especially being alone on stage with no band and me playing instruments but I found it was really like a tonic and an antidote to everything else we do,’ he said.

Tommy also embarked on a mammoth solo tour last year (Picture: Ken McKay/ ITV/ Rex/ Shutterstock)

Tommy was just nine-years-old when he started performing as part of the Blaize Brothers group with his two siblings in 1972.

He’s since gone on to work with some of the world’s biggest musicians including Stevie Wonder, Queen, The Beach Boys, Diana Ross, Amy Winehouse, Phil Collins, Robbie Williams, and Joe Cocker.

After 20 years, he’s got no plans to leave Strictly anytime soon though.

‘To be able to sing in front of the whole nation with a band of that calibre every week – that’s what draws me back,’ he said.

Strictly Come Dancing continues tonight at 6.45pm on BBC One.

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