12 December 2005
Mirror
Exclusive By Antonia Hoyle And Nicola Methven, Tv Editor
Grandma dies two days before dance semi-finals
ZOE Ball hid a secret heartache from viewers as she danced her way into the Strictly Come Dancing final.
Just two days before she performed a Viennese waltz and a paso doble with dance partner Ian Waite, she was told her grandmother had died.
Despite the news, she carried on with the show and opted to hide her sadness from the audience.
The judges gave her their harshest mauling yet, telling her she looked "nervous", "devoid of emotion" and "mechanical". Arlene Phillips said her paso doble was "all a bit fairground".
But as the tears streamed down Zoe's face, little did they know that she was upset about more than just her performance.
Speaking after Saturday night's show, she said: "Ian always said if all else fails, cry. But I didn't need to try. It's been an emotional week."
Zoe, 35, who is married to DJ Norman Cook, decided not to go for the sympathy vote by sharing her bad news with the viewers. A show insider said: "Zoe didn't want to tell anyone about the bereavement because she didn't want to look like she was trying to win over the voters. But she's had a difficult time of it."
Ian said she'd been pushed to the brink since hearing the news.
He added: "Zoe's been so upset this week. I'm just thrilled she pulled through to the final."
But she and Ian only just made it through when they beat chef James Martin and Camilla Dallerup to go through to next Saturday's show.
Strictly Come Dancing had its best ratings night of the series, pulling in 8.9million viewers. It trounced ITV1 rival The X Factor which had 7.4million viewers.
Zoe will dance in the final against athlete Colin Jackson and cricketer Darren Gough.
Her partner Ian will be hoping to better his position as runner-up in the last series when he danced with Denise Lewis.
