I gave love a cha cha chance with Strictly Come Dancing’s Daisy Lowe, says West End star Darius Campbell
STRICTLY’S DAISY LOWE enjoyed a secret whirlwind romance with West End star DARIUS CAMPBELL, he has confessed in an exclusive interview.
The couple stunned the showbiz world when they were seen on a number of dates but have now split — and Darius has been spotted tenderly kissing ex-wife NATASHA HENSTRIDGE.
Keen to clear up any confusion about whether the Strictly curse was at play again, the musical theatre star told us: “Yes, Daisy and I dated and I met her dad GAVIN ROSSDALE, who is great.
“But what people also didn’t know is we were friends first for years, even when I was married.
“There was a shift that happened a few months ago where we thought we’d go from friends to dating.
“When you’re friends first, you know all of each other’s sh*t. That made being more than friends really easy.
"It was natural and a fun relationship — there were no awkward first dates.
“She’s actually not a party girl. Yeah, we’d have a few tequilas but she’s just all about being with her friends, not going wild. We explored being a couple but we were better mates.
“As she’s about to do Strictly, I’d put it like this — we were great at jiving, we tried to tango, now we’re back to jiving.
“She’s really excited about the show and she’s a great dancer. I can’t wait to see how she does.”
Last week Darius, who rose to fame on talent shows Popstars and Pop Idol, was pictured tenderly kissing his ex-wife Natasha, who he divorced after two years of marriage in 2013.
He explained: “Natasha and I tried to reconcile last year but not enough time had passed since the divorce and it didn’t work.
“We were pictured having a very emotional lunch together. It’s fantastic that we have such love and care for each other after all that we’ve been through.”
Darius has so much more going on at the moment than just a slightly complicated personal life.
Every night he’s performing the lead male role in West End show Funny Girl opposite SHERIDAN SMITH.
He has supported his leading lady through tumultuous times, which saw her take a break from performing after struggling to deal with her father’s illness.
Darius said: “I was absolutely heartbroken for her about her dad.
“My own father was very ill and it was absolutely crushing — they’re the person you love most in the world and you don’t know if they’ll still be there when you get off stage.
“Sheridan and I both have incredibly close relationships with our parents.
“She’d just filmed (cancer drama) The C Word so knew what her dad had to go through and she had to juggle those emotions with making people laugh every night — but I think she’s even better now she’s back.”
Having seen the show before and after her break, we have to agree.
The pair are a great double-act and the nightly standing ovations they receive are well-deserved.
Darius said: “We have so much fun on stage together, she has such a naughty twinkle in her eye.
“There’s a line in the show where Sheridan’s character is told, ‘We’ve sold out. What’s it like to be adored before you’ve ever done anything?’
“That is exactly what happened with Sheridan — this show was the fastest-selling show in a long time.
“She feels the huge pressure and expectation that the audience has, but she’s exceeding their expectations.
“Her vulnerabilities endear her more to the public. She received such a barrage of social media criticism but compared to the love, it’s tiny. I adore her.” So do we.
Tay sports new look
TAYLOR SWIFT has made regular trips to the gym in full Hollywood attire, with a blow dry, red lipstick and designer handbag to boot.
Conspiracy theories raged – does she actually work out? Is there a crack team of beauticians and hairstylists on call inside the gym to get her red-carpet ready after a treadmill session? Was she incapable of sweating?
So imagine our surprise when the singer stepped out in New York on Friday in sportswear.
Fitness-mad boyfriend TOM HIDDLESTON must be having an effect on the normally prim and polished star.
Of course we embrace this new dressed-down Taylor but we felt her plain black vest could benefit from one addition.
After Tom proclaimed his love for Taylor in July with the now infamous “I heart TS” top, it was time the singer returned the favour.
You can thank our T-shirt artist later, Taylor.
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The former X Factor host told us: “Waffle has got his own agent. He’s going to be the new GRUMPY CAT.”
We don’t deny that Waffle is a cutie but if he can make it as a top model, we reckon Biz on Sunday Emma’s fluffy duo Oscar and Angel should get their own reality show.
Watching them off their heads on catnip is a hundred times more intellectually stimulating than anything the KARDASHIANS ever do.
Tom's got ripped all wrapped up
LOOKING buff is part of his job but clearly all the endorphins have gone to TOM CRUISE’s head.
We hear the Mission: Impossible muscleman spends a fair penny chartering private jets to fly his fitness gear to his next destination the day before he gets there when travelling the world shooting movies.
It means he can step off his flight and head straight to the gym to start working on those pecs, which will inevitably have deflated a few milimetres mid-flight.
A source said: “Working out is really important to Tom and he likes to have his own equipment with him so he can exercise in private.
“It might seem extravagant but for an A-lister of his stature, hiring a private jet is like the rest of us hailing a taxi.”
With his next project being a remake of The Mummy, it sounds like the star has got looking ripped all wrapped up.
Creep up, Kim
KIM KARDASHIAN gave a creepy model of hubby KANYE WEST the once over at an art event for his Famous video.
There were wax figures of TAYLOR SWIFT and RIHANNA too.
Let’s hope there are no meltdowns when Kanye performs at tonight’s MTV VMAs in New York.