Strictly Come Dancing star Eddie Kadi has admitted he was forced to lie to his daughter about his huge secret, before the news was officially announced.
The 40-year-old comedian is joining the likes of Amanda Abbington, Layton Williams, Angela Rippon, and Krishnan Guru-Murthy in the ballroom this year.
After much speculation, the celebs were revealed ahead of last week’s launch show, where we discovered Eddie was paired up with Strictly’s longest-serving pro, Karen Hauer.
And although some stars nearly gave the news away, others kept the big secret tightly under wraps, even from their own families.
Eddie revealed to Metro.co.uk that his dad and sister were over the moon at the news, but he knew he couldn’t tell his mum or his daughter.
He told us: ‘My dad was just confused, he was like “What?!” and then he kind of composed himself… he’s become my number one supporter.
‘My sister is obsessed with Strictly, and oddly enough she was one of the first people I told at first because I couldn’t trust my mum, she would have probably gone to Church and told half the Church.
‘So it was my sister, she was screaming, she was like, “Right I’m coming to watch,” and she insisted, and my friends were over the moon because they’ve also been part of the journey.
‘It’s a very surreal feeling, and for me, I was just numb.’
When Eddie was discussing the news with a friend in the car, with his five-year-old daughter in the back, he had to make up a lie so she wouldn’t accidentally spill the goss.
He admitted: ‘I was with my friend and we were going back and forth about me being on Strictly, and my daughter was like, “Oh what are you going to be on Daddy?” And I literally had to turn around to her and say, “Daddy is going to be on Blankety Blank,” because I knew she would tell her teacher.’
Talking about how his daughter feels about the real truth, and whether she would tag along to any training sessions, the doting-dad continued: ‘She’s my biggest critic, like she’s going to be trying to copy the moves and then laugh at me.
‘The thing about her is she’s so protective of me, so the moment where my pro might just be like snap at me in a nice way, my little girl, you won’t recognise her.
‘She’ll come and say, “Don’t talk to my daddy like that.”‘
He went on: ‘When I take her to swimming and gymnastics and I’m watching her I have to be like, “Listen to your teacher,” which is so crazy that I give my daughter this same advice, like “listen to your teacher, if you don’t listen to your teacher, you’re not going to get to the next stage,” and now I’m in the same position.’
This comes after Eddie admitted he’d already ‘crumbled’ in front of Karen, and fears moments where he’s ‘let her down’.
‘There’s been moments where I’ve come to understand, especially from my teacher, my pro, she already expects a certain level,’ he told us.
‘So there’s moments where it’s like, oh my gosh, I know I can do it, but I’ve made this mistake 20million times, and I’ve let her down.
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‘And then she has her way of reacting, and she gets in her corner and it’s almost like, oh my god, I’ve let her down.
‘Because you do get to the point where it’s literally teacher and student, and you’re looking up to her, and you go, I’ve let her down and then it is just silence.’
He added: ‘I just crumbled, just crumbled. And then she picks you up again, like, we’re on a journey, that kind of thing.’
Despite the emotional moments, Eddie couldn’t hold back his excitement, and said he felt ‘phenomenal’ when he found out who his partner was.
‘It was just exciting,’ he added. ‘This is real, I’ve got my partner now, this is really happening.’
Strictly Come Dancing continues on Saturday at 6.15pm on BBC One.
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