Ed Balls had to get his eyebrows plucked for 'Strictly Come Dancing'.
Ed Balls
The former politician has been busy slaving away in the dance studio to ensure he's ready for the live shows, which kick off this weekend, but he has admitted nothing could prepare him for the amount of fittings and pampering he's been forced to endure for the programme.
Speaking on BBC Radio Two on Friday (23.09.16), he said: "I've had so many fittings, where you're sort of pushed around and manhandled, and I've never experienced that before. So far I've said no to the spray tan but I did have an eyebrow pluck. That was a first for me. There was a bit of a stray hair and I thought they'd just pluck it. It took my 49 years to have a pluck so I quite enjoyed that."
But, although he's just about used to the amount of time he has to spend in the make-up chair and dressing room, the 49-year-old author is still trying to master the steps ahead of his debut.
He explained: "Last week we did about 35 hours across the week and the same the week before so it's been quite intense. If you're going in from scratch, you can't dance at all."
And, despite spending a total of 70 hours learning the moves, Ed still doesn't feel ready to hit the dance floor with his partner Katya Jones.
Asked how much practice he's had, he said: "Not enough, I've got a very good partner called Katya and she thinks about eight hours a day is just about right and if I arrive 10 minutes late, she's standing at the door with her arms crossed ready for me to get capsized."
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