Strictly Come Dancing star Danny John Jules has hit out at celebrities who he says are an “insult” to stars of old.
Danny, who’s partnered with Amy Dowden on the dancing show, claimed his fellow contestants aren’t a patch on the likes of Bernie Winters and Norman Wisdom.
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The former Red Dwarf actor told The Sun newspaper: “I’m not a celebrity, I’m an entertainer. That’s the difference.
“I’m a different level. I’m talking about variety artists I came up working with people like Norman Wisdom, Bernie Winters, Freddie “Parrot-Face” Davies and Vince Hill and on and on and on… They’re stars. Celebrities today are an insult to those guys.”
Adding that people get confused between being famous and being an “entertainer”, he said anyone can be a celebrity these days by appearing on shows like Love Island:
“I tell you when you know who a star is — it’s when you’re in a room full of celebrities, because the celebrities will be looking at the star.”
Danny also admitted he doesn’t spend any time with any of the other contestants, unless he’s booked for promotion, such as It Takes Two appearances, with them.
“As far as socialising, I have not been out with one member of the cast. We came here to be tested, not to prance up and down like some old luvvie, drinking martinis and having the odd knees-up.”
During the interview he also rubbished the so-called Strictly curse, insisting it’s “fantasy”, but did joke he was hoping for it to hit so he could get rid of his wife of 17-years Petula Langlais!
The Death in Paradise star scored the show’s first 10 of the series two weeks ago with his jive.
And despite not topping the leaderboard last week, it’s been revealed his partner Amy was suffering from an injury she picked up in rehearsals.
Read more: Another Strictly star picks up an injury ahead of Saturday’s show
The professional sprained her ankle after colliding with fellow pro Gorka Marquez in rehearsals and she and Danny were unable to rehearse prior to Saturday’s live performance.
But on It Takes Two with Zoe Ball, Amy revealed: “[Danny] led me round that floor beautifully and I wasn’t worried at all.”
That’s teamwork for you!
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Strictly continues on BBC One Saturday at 7.05pm