Strictly Come Dancing’s Balvinder Sopal has opened up about the impact of her beloved mother’s death.
In an emotional clip shared during Saturday’s (8 November) episode, the EastEnders star revealed that last year had been “terrible” for her and her family as they dealt with the loss of their relative.
“Last year was a terrible year for us,” the soap star said, telling viewers that her mum had been her “biggest cheerleader”.
“Losing my mum felt like and still does feel like I lost a part of me. Me and mum had a brilliant relationship.”
The actor revealed how she “loved” returning from filming to spend time with her mum, “sitting down, having a cup of tea with mum wrapped in a blanket. We'd just be warm together”.
Sopal, 46, explained that she had turned down recent opportunities until she was offered a spot on Strictly, which she knew she had to accept “because mum would want me to be seen”.
“I'd said no to every single thing that came my way and then Strictly came along,” she said.
“I thought, yeah, I'm gonna do it, this is my yes year. And I'm gonna do it because I wanna be seen, and because mum would want me to be seen.”
She added that her mum “will be incredibly happy and dancing, wherever she is, shining down on me”.
During tonight’s show, Sopal and her dance partner Julian Caillon performed a Bhangra-inspired Couple’s Choice routine to Sapphire by Ed Sheeran and Arijit Singh.
Judge Motsi Mabuse thanked Sopal for opening up about her grief in her pre-performance VT, telling her: “I know your mum is watching and she’s so proud of you.”
Head judge Shirley Ballas, meanwhile, praised the routine as Sopal and Caillon’s “best dance so far”.
The pair, who have ended up in the dreaded dance off three times throughout the series so far, received a total of 34 points from the judges.
Fans on Twitter/X praised their emotional performance, with one viewer writing: “Balvinder did her mum so proud with that dance, so so gorgeous and full of joy!!”
“There’s a very proud Mum looking down,” another suggested, while a third wrote: “Yessss!! Balvinder’s couple choice was phenomenal her mum would be so so proud of her! What a perfectly timed dance at this point of the competition!”
