Catherine Tydlesley’s husband has said that he is fully prepared to become the target of jokes about the so-called Strictly curse.
Fitness trainer Tom Pitfield, who has been married to the former Coronation Street star since 2016, said his friends already made fun of him for having a wife on TV.
He told Hello! magazine he expected the teasing to get worse once she became a fixture on BBC One every Saturday night.
He said: “My friends have always given me a lot of stick. I am easy pickings for them with a wife on TV so, when the whole Strictly thing came up, they were rubbing their hands getting ready.”
The so-called Strictly curse has seen celebrity dancers and their professional partners become intimate over the course of the show, despite them being married or in relationships.
Strictly’s most recent example of the curse was in October last year, when comedian Seann Walsh was pictured kissing his married dance partner Katya Jones.
Tydlesley added: “His mates wind him up about everything. They used to wind him up when I got a new boyfriend on Corrie, but Tom just takes it on the chin.
“He is so selfless, my best friend, and the greatest support to me. If ever I am doing a live performance, having Tom there just calms me down.”
Pitfield has already become good friends with her professional partner, South African dancer and choreographer Johannes Radebe.
“He hit it off with Johannes straight away,” she said.
“He has already invited him round for dinner, so I think Johannes will become part of our family.”
She also shared her tips for staying calm before a big dance.
She said: “I am a big fan of meditation so before any live performance I go into what Tom calls my Cath bubble.
“Because normally I am so bubbly and talkative, everyone says, ‘Are you okay?’ But I am visualising everything going completely to plan, so at the minute I am visualising me and Johannes and those perfect 10s from the judges.
“To get to Blackpool would be the dream. I used to go most years to see the illuminations, it was a huge part of my childhood.
“My dad has said, ‘If you get to Blackpool I’ll be happy’, and I said ‘Let me just get to week two first.’”
Read the full interview in Hello! magazine, out now.