STRICTLY star Joe McFadden is ready to quickstep his way to a glittering new career in musicals.
Even before last night’s final flourish with his emotional Viennese Waltz to Somewhere My Love from Doctor Zhivago, he was headed for a future on stage.
Joe, the first Scot ever to make the final of BBC’s dance show, has revealed he wanted to keep his dancing shoes on.
Before the dancefloor showdown with fellow celebrity finalists Alexandra Burke, Debbie McGee and Gemma Atkinson, he said: “Maybe this will be a springboard and open up avenues to doing live theatre and maybe a musical.”
His shock exit from Holby City earlier this month – his surgeon Raffaello Di Luca died after a shooting – not only freed up time for training with pro partner Katya Jones but also made him available for theatre commitments.
Steven Howard, a top producer who this year staged Rip It Up with previous Strictly winners Louis Smith and Jay McGuiness, said theatre bosses will be delighted to have Joe perform.
“I’m absolutely sure Joe will have calls after this,” said Steven.
“Being on Strictly is a massive leap for someone like Joe.
“It’s all down to the profile of the show coupled with the fact that they have discovered the joy of dance and being seen in front of 12 million people in the final.”
Joe will be joining a long line of stars for whom Strictly has proved a stepping stone for stage success.
Last year’s runner-up Danny Mac left Hollyoaks and stepped right into a stage version of the musical On The Town, made into a film starring Frank Sinatra.
He admitted that his routines on a Saturday night made producers see him in a totally different light. And he moved straight into another musical Sunset Boulevard.
The 2014 Strictly winner Caroline Flack starred in the recent tour of Crazy For You and said that her dancefloor exposure had a huge impact.
Caroline told us: “Strictly had a lot to do with where I am right now. Before that people just knew me as someone who hosted TV shows.
“I started receiving offers after Strictly and a lot of opportunities came my way.”
The amazing boost Strictly can give was seen by another stage show, Chicago.
It did good business a couple of years ago at the King’s Theatre Edinburgh but when it came back last month it had moved to the Playhouse, which has almost twice as many seats.
An insider from Ambassador Theatre Group, who operate both venues, said the move was all down to the interest generated by new cast member Louise Redknapp, who finished a Strictly runner-up last year.
Meanwhile, Strictly has once more been a ratings phenomenon for the BBC.
New figures reveal that this year’s series has officially been the most popular in the programme’s 14 years on screen.
Each weekend the show has pulled in an average of 11 million viewers, nudging it ahead of last year’s all-time record.
It smashed Saturday night rival The X Factor, which had its lowest-ever final figures of only 4.4 million.
BBC bosses will be relieved after concerns over the impact of the departure of veteran head judge Len Goodman.
But despite some criticism over her remarks being too technical, replacement Shirley Ballas, 57, has proved to be a huge success.
There were fears that she would quit after a single series, but before last night’s final she said: “It would be an honour to be invited back for such a magnificent show.”
The viewing figures have been helped by the usual mix of highlights, controversies and romantic rumours.
At the age of 59 Debbie McGee stunned with her elegant, acrobatic routines.
Scots comedian Susan Calman, who lasted longer than the Blackpool extravaganza, had viewers in tears with her speech about how much the show had meant to her.
And Ed Sheeran performed on last night’s final as he attempts to clinch the Christmas number one spot with a remix of his single Perfect which features US superstar Beyonce.
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