His journey to the Strictly final won him millions of fans.
But Bobby Brazier has confessed he felt so ‘lost’ after the show ended that he found himself eating ice cream all the time as he struggled with his new-found fame.
The star, who narrowly missed out on lifting the glitter ball trophy with professional partner Dianne Buswell, was compared to both Sir Mick Jagger and Harry Styles during the series.
But revealing the downside to his new life, Brazier, told the Mail in an exclusive interview: ‘I felt a little bit lost after the final, I was in no kind of routine at all. I was eating lots of ice cream at times that I shouldn’t have been, first thing in the morning.
‘I’d never watched Strictly – of course I knew what it was and stuff – but I’d never really imagined what it would be like after.
Bobby Brazier and Dianne Buswell practice their routine yesterday during a rehearsal for the forthcoming Strictly Come Dancing – The Live UK Tour
The EastEnders star made the 2023 Strictly final but lost the Glitterball trophy to actress Ellie Leach and her professional partner Vito Coppola
The pair pose for a photo in their glittery costumes during the Strictly Come Dancing – Live UK Tour dress rehearsal yesterday
‘But luckily I got out of the house and went to Mauritius last minute and spent Christmas there. There was a buffet and there was the sun and the sea. It was lovely.’
Brazier’s life has changed significantly following the show. But his father Jeff – who raised him as a single dad following his wife Jade Goody’s death from cervical cancer in 2009 – has refused to let it go to his head.
And instead of treating his eldest son like a superstar, he raised his rent at the family home in Essex.
Asked if television presenter Jeff, 45, is keeping his feet on the ground, Brazier replied: ‘Whenever someone asks me that, I always say I still feel like I haven’t really even started. I feel like it hasn’t really started yet.
‘I’m pretty grounded anyway but he’s put my rent up again. He took the liberty, he went to the estate agents. He found out how much that room would cost, and he’s charging me that! That keeps me honest!’
Since his time on Strictly, Brazier has become a heart-throb – and has girls chasing him for dates.
He insists he is single and that Ms Buswell will always be his ‘number one, two and three’ but he jokes that he is looking for new girls to be his ‘five, six, seven and eight’.
Brazier confides that he has met someone online and is hoping to meet her while he is travelling the country as part of the forthcoming Strictly tour.
‘I’m not looking for it in the same way I’m looking to become good at what I do, but I like affection,’ he said.
‘Tell you what, there’s a lovely girl from Manchester who I’m going to invite to the show, but that’s it. Full stop. I haven’t even met her before. We’ve just spoken. Anyway, I’m getting embarrassed.’
Brazier has his hair styled during yesterday’s rehearsal of the Strictly Come Dancing – The Live UK Tour as he prepares to get back on stage
Brazier narrowly missed out on lifting the glitter ball trophy with professional partner Ms Buswell in last year’s series
Brazier is so popular with girls that during a trip to London’s O2 arena last month he had to call security because he was mobbed by female fans.
‘I was a little bit shocked I’d get mobbed,’ Brazier explained. ‘There was a time, actually, funnily enough at the O2, I went to the Jingle Bell Ball and I’m walking in thinking, “Oh, I might get stopped a few times”, which is fine.
‘But me and my best friend, we got backed into a corner for about half hour. We’ve had to call security to help us! I went to Winter Wonderland, me and my best friend and that was nuts as well. There were just so many girls everywhere. So many girls.
‘Oh it was intense. There were all these girls who wanted to chat and take pictures and stuff, which is lovely. It is lovely. It is lovely when someone’s so enthusiastic to see you.
‘It is really sweet and I love that. I really do. But I’ll tell you, my cheeks were hurting so much because you have to smile in pictures, don’t you? By the end of it, I couldn’t smile anymore.’
Asked if the girls behave themselves or are a little ‘handsy’ Brazier replied: ‘Well, I don’t mind hands. I’m affectionate. I don’t mind a cuddle. Not at all, not at all. I welcome that.’
Brazier will return to BBC One soap EastEnders soon where he will reprise his role as Freddie Slater. But he admits he has bigger plans and that he is already thinking about becoming more of an all-rounder.
He even confesses he is considering singing lessons.
He revealed: ‘I have the intention of learning how to become the best storyteller I can. I think the next couple of years is just about getting experience across the board.
‘So maybe doing some theatre, some film, maybe learning how to sing, as I say. Maybe doing some more dancing. I think I’m still young, so yeah, throwing myself at lots of different things so I can learn my craft. I want to be a craftsman. You can’t get good at it unless you try all these different things and that’s scary.’
Brazier said his father Jeff, pictured, raised the rent of his room at their family home in Essex instead of treating his eldest son like a superstar following his Strictly success
Brazier will once again be partnered with Ms Buswell, 34, and will perform at venues including London’s O2 and Birmingham ’s Utilita Arena during the Strictly Come Dancing – Live UK Tour
On Friday, Brazier begins the Strictly tour – something he says is ‘like a dream come true’.
He will once again be partnered with Ms Buswell, 34, and will perform at venues including London’s O2 and Birmingham’s Utilita Arena.
Brazier admits he thinks he will get a ‘buzz’ off of the sheer size of the arenas, saying: ‘I just love having an audience and putting on a show and experiencing that with them.’
He will dance the samba and the Viennese waltz – one of which he said is like a ‘party’.
He said: ‘We really tell a story of elegance and maturity in the other. I can’t wait to be like five or six shows down and it’s just second nature when you start adding in your own little things.’
