Strictly Come Dancing’s George Clarke broke down in uncontrollable tears as he delivered a raw, gut-wrenching performance dedicated to his mum, who is currently fighting a brutal cancer battle — but the real twist came after the final note faded. As the audience wiped their eyes, Craig leaned forward and whispered, “George… there’s someone here who wants to finish this dance with you,” leaving the entire studio frozen. George shook his head in disbelief, whispering through tears, “No… it can’t be.”
Strictly Come Dancing’s George Clarke broke down in tears after dedicating his performance on Saturday’s show to his beloved mum amid her battle with cancer.
The YouTube star, 25, took to the dance-floor with pro partner Alexis Warr for an emotional Rhumba, leaving fans at home and head judge Shirley Ballas in tears.
Overcome with emotion George was watched from the audience by his mum and dad as he described the routine as a ‘love letter’ to his family ahead of next week’s Blackpool special.
Speaking in his pre-recorded VT George recalled how his mother had spent years battling Encephalitis, a dangerous condition that causes brain inflammation, before being diagnosed with cancer.
‘She’s the most selfless person that I have ever met. The first thing she did when she came out of hospital was apologise to us for what she has put us through’.
He continued: ‘Nobody deserves to be put through what she has been through and least of all her’.
Taking to X fans gushed: ‘Happy to spot George’s mum among the crowd’; ‘George’s story about his mum got me emotional sending so much love to her and him the dance was beautiful and I love that song’; ‘Wow, had no idea George’s mum has cancer. That will come as a shock to his fans. Hope this dance is beautiful’.
Despite the emotions the judges were quick to point out George’s lack of technicality and the routine eventually scored 30 out of 40.
The influencer previously opened up about his mother’s terrifying Encephalitis battle, which left her in intensive care and unable to recognise him.
Encephalitis is an uncommon but serious condition in which the brain becomes inflamed and can result in confusion and memory loss.
Recalling his mum collapsing he said: ‘I saw her being wheeled out, and she didn’t recognise me, That summer was filled with hospital visits as she relearned who we were. She even called me “Fat Boy” for a while!’
Taking to TikTok to bring awareness to the condition he revealed she had been given just a 20 per cent change of survival: ‘She lost long-term memories, her sense of taste and smell, and her sense of direction.’
George’s dad is Sean Clarke, the managing director of Aardman Animations – the studio behind British institution Wallace and Gromit.
Starting out at the company in 1998, he worked his way up, co-producing Early Man and the two Shaun The Sheep movies – and in 2019 was announced as the new boss of the whole operation.
The YouTube star, 25, took to the dance-floor with pro partner Alexis Warr for an emotional Rhumba, leaving fans at home and head judge Shirley Ballas in tear
Speaking in his VT a tearful George recalled how his mother had spent years battling Encephalitis, a condition that causes brain inflammation, before being diagnosed with cancer
He said: ‘She’s the most selfless person that I have ever met. The first thing she did when she came out of hospital was apologise to us for what she has put us through’
George’s dad is Sean Clarke, the managing director of Aardman Animations – the studio behind British institution Wallace and Gromit
Taking to X fans gushed: ‘Happy to spot George’s mum among the crowd’; ‘George’s story about his mum got me emotional’
Kicking off Saturday’s show EastEnders‘ Balvinder Sopal and pro partner Julian Caillon took to the floor with an American Smooth which the judges branded ‘safe’.
After impressing last week with her Bollywood inspired routine the soap star‘s latest performance scored a middle of the road 27 out of 40.
Then it was the turn of Love Island’s Amber Davies and Nikita Kuzmin with a racy Paso Doble that scored a whopping 38 out of 40.
The routine left judge Anton Du Beke blushing and ‘very very excited’, while famously hard to please Craig Revel Horwood declared the pair as ‘full of fire’ and ‘brilliant’.
Just a day after Amber set the record straight on her close bond with Nikita, following their dance he described her as a ‘lovely person’ and gushed what a ‘wonderful student’ she had been.
Alex Kingston and Johannes Radebe wowed with a ‘romantic and elegant’ Waltz, which also impressed the judges who scored them 35 out of 40.
Motsi Mabuse gushed: ‘I love this partnership, I just love to watch you dance’.
Hosts (L-R) Claudia Winkleman and Tess Daly looked stunning ahead of next week’s Blackpool special
Kicking off Saturday’s show EastEnders’ Balvinder Sopal and pro partner Julian Caillon took to the floor with an American Smooth which the judges branded ‘safe’
EastEnders’ Balvinder Sopal and pro partner Julian Caillon
Then it was Vicky Pattison who strutted her stuff with a jive, just a week after she and partner Kai Widdrington topped the leaderboard.
But despite their best efforts the routine was described by the judges as ‘not her best but not her worst’ and landed bottom with 27 out of 40.
Later proud pro Carlos Gu broke down in tears after his and Lioness Karen Carney’s American Smooth scored 31 out of 40.
He explained how the traditional ballroom routine was out of the athlete’s ‘comfort zone’ and despite her back injury she still managed to pull through with the performance.
Next, Lewis Cope was branded a ‘sensation’ by the judges following his Tango with Katya Jones, with Motsi branding it the ‘best dance’ she had ever seen on the show.
Full of praise the panel gushed over the steamy routine and said how the actor was ‘getting better and better’, before scoring him a whopping 37 out of 40.
Later proud pro Carlos Gu broke down in tears after his and Lioness Karen Carney’s American Smooth scored 31 out of 40
He explained how the traditional ballroom routine was out of the athlete’s ‘comfort zone’ and despite her back injury she still managed to pull through with the performance
Soap actor Lewis Cope was branded a ‘sensation’ by the judges following his Tango with Katya Jones, with Motsi branding it the ‘best dance’ she had ever seen on the show
Full of praise the panel gushed over the steamy routine and said how the actor was ‘getting better and better’, before scoring him a whopping 37 out of 40
Finally RuPaul’s Drag Race star La Voix was another star who used his dance to pay tribute to his mum, who sadly passed away earlier this year
Choking back tears, he recalled how he’d gone from one of his shows with a huge audience to ‘his world stopping’ following her death
The star took to the floor for the couples choice dance with Aljaž Škorjanec while watched from the audience by his ‘immensely proud’ dad Richard (Right)
Finally RuPaul’s Drag Race star La Voix was another star who used his dance to pay tribute to his mum, who sadly passed away earlier this year.
Choking back tears, he recalled how he’d gone from one of his shows with a huge audience to ‘his world stopping’ following her death.
The star took to the floor for the couples choice dance with Aljaž Škorjanec while watched from the audience by his ‘immensely proud’ dad Richard.
Once again the judges ‘loved it’, praising the performer’s stage presence before marking a respectable 33 out of 40.
Strictly Come Dancing continues on Saturday at 6:30pm and is available to stream on BBC iPlayer.
