Vernon Kay reveals wife Tess Daly had to ‘fight back tears’ during Strictly live show

Vernon Kay has revealed that his wife Tess Daly struggled to contain her emotions during Strictly Come Dancing’s live semi-final last Saturday.

© Guy Levy

The TV presenter fought back the tears after professional dancer Dianne Buswell delivered a touching speech about her celebrity partner, Chris McCausland, who is Strictly’s first blind contestant.

After their performance, Dianne said: “I have taught Chris all this time without a single visual cue.

“He’s not been able to look at a video back to see if he did a great job or needs to work on anything.

“He’s never been able to see his competitors, yet he’s seen this competition so well because he’s captured the spirit of the show.

“I could not be more proud of him. He has shown that anything is possible.”

The camera transitioned back to Tess after Dianne’s heartfelt words, who was visibly moved to tears.

Discussing the emotional moment with The Sun, Vernon said: “Chris has done absolutely amazingly and Dianne had everyone in tears in the semi-final when she said, ‘Look, Chris hasn’t seen other people dance.

“He hasn’t seen what he’s accomplished, what he’s achieved. He hasn’t seen his own hand placement or footwork’.

“It just struck a cord and touched everyone in the studio. Tess was in tears and she had to really fight back tears when she did the next link to introduce the next dancer.”

After the pair stunned with their Viennese Waltz last week they secured a spot in this weekend’s Strictly Come Dancing 2024 final.

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 Vernon’s mention of wife Tess comes after he starred in a campaign for EE broadband with his 20-year-old daughter, Phoebe. The BBC Radio 2 presenter showed off his incredible festive home transformation for the advert.

Vernon also shares a younger daughter Amber, 15, with his wife, 55.

Phoebe was the spitting image of her mother as she stunned in a black long-sleeved top embellished with silver buttons on the sleeves and a pair of light-wash baggy jeans.

© EE

The couple’s eldest daughter styled her luscious blonde locks into soft waves and opted for radiant makeup with a smudge of bronze eyeshadow, a pinch of rosy blush and a glossy pink lip. Phoebe also donned a dainty gold locket necklace, a pair of gold hoop earrings, and a stack of chunky gold rings. 

To usher in the festive season, the teenager showed off her pristine red manicure as she posed alongside her father who donned a grey wool Christmas jumper.