Who is Strictly Come Dancing and EastEnders star Bobby Brazier?
All eyes will be on EastEnders star Bobby Brazier this weekend as he performs live on Strictly Come Dancing for the first time.
The young actor, best known for his role as Freddie Slater on the Walford soap, has emerged as the early bookies' favourite to win the BBC One ballroom competition. No pressure, then.
EastEnders viewers have been watching Bobby for a year now and he's become hugely popular with fans, as illustrated by his recent success at the National Television Awards.
Don't worry if you're not a soap fan and need to get up to speed, as here's everything you need to know about him.
Who is Bobby Brazier?
Bobby was born in London in June 2003. He's the son of TV presenter Jeff Brazier and the late reality TV star Jade Goody, who was best known for finding fame on Big Brother.
Bobby and his younger brother Freddy made early TV appearances on his mum's Sky Living reality shows.
After the tragic death of Jade, who passed away from cervical cancer in March 2009 at the age of 27, Bobby and Freddy were raised by Jeff and lived their early lives away from the public glare.
Once Bobby was 16, he was scouted and signed as a model. He made his debut in the industry when he appeared at Milan Fashion Week in 2020. Further appearances followed at London Fashion Week and Paris Fashion Week.
In 2022, Bobby was cast in EastEnders as Little Mo Slater's son Freddie, a character who had previously featured on screen as a child between 2004 and 2006.
EastEnders' executive producer Chris Clenshaw said last year: "We were doing our usual casting process and we're always looking for new talent. I saw Bobby's social media and we were already conceiving Freddie and building his character.
"There was some of what I saw in Bobby that I thought would be perfect for Freddie. His energy, his twinkle, his spiritual side. So then we brought Bobby in to audition along with some others and he just blew us away with his performance. He is Freddie Slater."
In the past year, cheeky chappie Freddie has been a likeable presence on the Square – befriending Bobby Beale, getting involved in wheeler dealing with Alfie Moon and bonding with the Slater family.
Freddie's biggest soap storyline so far aired in August this year, as he learned the truth about being conceived when his biological father Graham Foster raped Little Mo.
Last month, Bobby won the Rising Star prize at the National Television Awards after his successful first year as Freddie.
What do we know about Bobby's Strictly role?
Bobby will be competing on Strictly Come Dancing with Dianne Buswell as his professional partner.
In the first live show, the pair will be dancing a Foxtrot to 'All About You' by McFly.
Speaking recently, Bobby commented: "I was always going to say yes [to Strictly], whether it was this year, last year, the next year because I love dancing.
"That's it – whether it was on TV or not, the opportunity to dance with a professional dancer, and learn a different style of dancing every week is just my idea of a good time."
Asked about his biggest challenge on the show, Bobby replied: "Well, I don't have any idea but I can imagine it's going to be pretty tiring. Probably quite draining. Hopefully I can just remain grateful and remain purposeful. But I do expect to be tired."
Bobby has confirmed that he'll be taking a break from EastEnders while he focuses on Strictly.
He told Digital Spy and other media last month: "I'm taking a break. I've filmed it all, and I'm not telling you. I'll be back."
Strictly Come Dancing airs on Saturday nights on BBC One, while spin-off Strictly: It Takes Two airs on weeknights from September 25 on BBC Two. Both shows are available to stream on BBC iPlayer.
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