Bobby Brazier has officially joined Strictly Come Dancing‘s cast.
The 20-year-old has joined the cast, which includes Coronation Street’s Ellie Leach and Waterloo actor Adam Thomas.
‘I’m so pleased to be part of the Strictly line-up, I can’t wait to start practising like a professional dancer and adding a few skills to my armoury,’ Bobby said after the announcement.
‘I’m looking forward to performing in front of everyone, it’s going to be so much fun!’
He is presently the youngest player to sign up for the 2023 season, but that doesn’t mean he hasn’t already had a successful career.
Let’s take a look at his road to popularity from the beginning…
Famous parents
Jeff Brazier dated the late Jade Goody for two years beginning in 2002. During their brief relationship, the TV host and Big Brother star had kids Bobby and Freddie, who are now 18 years old.
Although they never said why they split at the time, Jeff, 44, subsequently stated that they lacked trust.
‘Things that were personal to us kept appearing in the papers.
‘[We’d ask] how do they know that? We were convinced that [each other] or people around us were selling stories and making money on things that were very contentious for us,’ Jeff explained on Channel 4 documentary Jade Goody: The Reality Star That Changed Britain.
‘Trust disintegrated to nothing.’
He concluded: ‘Looking back now it was entirely obvious we were being hacked.’
Their renowned mother frequently let cameras into her life for her different reality series, such as Jade’s salon, which covered the launch of her salon Ugly’s, and Jade, which documented her cancer treatment and marriage to Jack Tweed.
Goody died of cervical cancer at the age of 27, and Jeff was given full custody of their two young kids.
Jeff then removed the boys from the spotlight to help them cope with their loss.
‘They understand fame well enough to know that I made them un-famous! It was quite amusing when Bobby first said that,’ Jeff previously told The Mirror.
‘It’s hard for them to quantify the immeasurable difference me keeping them in the magazines and on the TV over the last eight years would have had on their sense of reality and their ability to come to terms with their loss.
‘Maybe it would of been fine for us to do so but I wasn’t willing to gamble on their childhoods.’
When speaking about losing his mum, Bobby said: ‘I miss what could’ve been. I hear all the time she was such a presence, that she was one of a kind.
‘What hurts most is that it wasn’t just losing anyone, it was losing Jade. I just would’ve loved to have seen what other people had seen,’ he told The Face.
Modelling contract
Bobby got a job at a milkshake café after graduating from high school. We hope he took advantage of the goodies.
When Cesar Perin scouted him at the age of 16, he decided to return to the spotlight.
Cesar saw the lucky adolescent in an unexpected way.
Sharing the story on Instagram he wrote: ‘Jokes story. I was in trouble at school and had to go in for a meeting.
‘So before I go, I go Costa for a little prep talk with my dad and when we leave @cesarperin is chasing me down the street asking me if I’m a model.’
He joined with the agency Unsigned Group and has posed for major designer companies such as Dolce & Gabbana and Tommy Hilfiger at Milan Fashion Week. He has also been on the cover of the prestigious fashion magazine Man About Town.
On Instagram, where he has 177k followers, he shares glimpses of his lavish existence. He is also a proponent of healthy mental health and well-being, which he promotes on his platforms.
Soap star
He made the transition from modelling to acting last year when he was cast as Freddie Slater in EastEnders. Alex and Tom Kilby performed the character earlier between 2004 and 2006.
Little Mo Slater (Kacey Ainsworth) is Freddie’s father, and other family members include Kat Slater (Jessie Wallace), Big Mo (Laila Morse), Charlie Slater (Derek Martin), and Stacey Slater (Lacey Turner).
Bobby stated in a statement when it was revealed that he would be joining the cast of EastEnders in July 2022, “I’m incredibly delighted to be joining the cast of EastEnders – so far it’s been fantastic.” Everyone has been wonderful to me and has made settling in simpler than I could have imagined.
‘Stepping into the acting world has always been a vision of mine and doing that with EastEnders as a Slater is a blessing, I’m very grateful. Loving every minute of Freddie so far and can’t wait to see what’s in store for him in Walford.’
His performance in the long-running BBC serial has received widespread acclaim.
Freddie was saddened to find in one of last week’s episodes that his mother, Little Mo Slater, had become pregnant after being raped by Graham Foster (Alex McSweeney).
Devastated Freddie went away to clear his mind, and after a heart-to-heart with Gina Knight (Francesca Henry), he resolved to shut his father out of his life for good.
Viewers remarked that Bobby’s ‘powerful’ performance had moved them to tears.
He has now been nominated for a Rising Star Award at the National Television Awards, and the winner will be revealed next month!
Hopefully, he’ll be able to attend between Strictly rehearsals.
