Strictly’s George Clarke shares what he’s most looking forward to

Tiktoker and podcaster George Clarke says learning the moves for Strictly Come Dancing has been a lot harder work than he initially thought.

The Bristolian, known as ‘Clarkey’, is paired with new professional dancer Alexis Warr, and the pair made it through the most recent round performing the Paso Doble.

Mr Clarke said he got on with his dance partner “immediately” and that he has enjoyed doing something his family can enjoy.

“My nan is over the moon. When I called her [to say he was doing the show], she was like ‘Oh that’s really cool’,” he told BBC Radio Bristol.

The star has also revealed he injured his back during rehearsals. Speaking on his podcast, The Useless Hotline Podcast, he said: “I had a pinched nerve all week in my back. I had acupuncture.”

But he was still able to perform on Saturday night and has been back to his intense rehearsal schedule this week.

Mr Clarke told BBC Radio Bristol there was no doubt he would say ‘yes’ to appearing on Strictly when he was contacted in May.

“I’ve always said there’s two or maybe three TV shows that I feel like I couldn’t say no to, and Strictly was definitely one of them,” he said.

Mr Clarke, who has no dance experience, said while he is trying to “embrace it” as much as he can, he soon found out the show would be a lot harder work than he initially thought.

He said he had sometimes “struggled to find strengths” to his dancing but “when something clicks it feels very satisfying”.

Mr Clarke said he was enjoying doing something his grandparents could relate to and enjoy.

While he now lives in London, Mr Clarke told the BBC he will “always feel like a Bristol boy at heart”.

Remembering his time heading to the Hippodrome and going to see Bristol Rugby – now known as the Bears – as a child, Mr Clarke said: “It’s a really nice place to grow up.

“It’s nice to get back to Bristol and have what feels like a breath of fresh air.”

Mr Clarke said he was always a “massive YouTube fan” and he first started sharing content online while at university.

He said he avoids labelling his content comedy, but instead calls it “an attempt at entertaining”.

His videos of situational comedy and point-of-view clips has since amassed millions of followers across TikTok, YouTube and Instagram, with his podcast The Useless Hotline which he co-hosts with Max Baledge, also charting number one in the UK.