EVERY
now and then you encounter moments of magic... something sweeps you up
into the furore and you’re hooked...left feeling almost
insatiable...hungering for the next glimpse...your next fix!
I had been captivated by Danny Mac throughout his time on Hollyoaks but then he left my screen in January 2015. There
was madness in my sadness. I’d long since appreciated this man...yes he
has the film star looks...gorgeous smile and just oozes
that like-ability factor... ticking every box almost too good to be
true. But there was just something more about him...his persona in
general seemed that of a genuine, sincere, humble human with a beautiful
sweet soul.
But
still this boy would surely go on to greater things? Then just over 18
months later on August 2016 I saw it! He tweeted a dancer emoji… Oh my
days the excitement...I just knew...HE’S DOING STRICTLY!!!
I
just could not wait for the launch show...it was something akin to a
child’s Christmas countdown and I was beyond excited.. always avidly
watching all social media for any snippets. And so launch weekend
arrived and there he was adorned in a blue glittery sequinned
ensemble... and man did he shake his tail feathers!! But who would he be paired with???
He wanted a drill sergeant...someone to whip
him in to shape and beat him in to some sort of ability.. and WOW he
got that.. When Oti’s name was announced as Danny’s partner her face was
both shocked and elated.. running in to his arms he swept her up..
neither expected this pairing but here was the start of something very,
very special.
Again
having to wait 3 weeks for the show to begin felt like torture but I
survived thanks to social media having followed everything Danny, Oti
& Strictly. Week1 loomed and I couldn’t wait to see what Danny &
Oti had in store for us. We saw from their training video and heard
from Tess how anxious Danny was.. I felt nervous for him...heart in my
mouth nerves took over me.
The
stage glimmered lilac and pink and the music started...Oti standing
proud in front of a cocktail bar...what was to become a favourite song
played and out Danny came from a silver beaded curtain.. oh my.. my
heart rate soared...out he came...pulled out some MJ moves and then we
were off.
Ninety seconds of pure joy WOW I mean I knew he would be good but WOW his Cha
Cha was fantastic and man he could move those hips. He had rhythm and so
much more...smiling through their performance I couldn’t see any
nerves. The DNCE song ended with Oti’s head in Danny’s hands and Oti let
out the biggest scream of joy and hugged her boy. I can still hear
Danny’s sigh of relief that melted my heart.
Ensconced from Day 1, I revelled in a wonderful journey with
Danny & Oti...and fell in love with TeamDoti. I was there
every dance step of the way. I woke up feeling nervous on Saturday
mornings knowing Danny’s anxieties may be getting the better of
him. Each week I watched that TV screen…waiting for them to hit
the floor with more of their brilliance.. they really should have come
with a health warning…
After voting, voting and voting again, I waited for the results on Sundays.. always
knowing, yeah of course they’re through.. I mean DID YOU SEE THAT DANCE?
Still my heart again in my mouth each week waiting for their names to go
through… I tweeted and retweeted… voted and voted some more... unable
to wait till next Saturday I watched ITT and Zoe to catch glimpses of
their training and their wonderful post-dance interview.. and Monday
mornings at work my colleagues were always treated to DOTI’S routine on
YouTube however I’m not sure what they enjoyed most.. the dance or
my over excited jumping up & down ooooohing & ahhhhing at their
every move…
I
could talk about my love of DOTI forever and a day...I could write
about them for an eternity and my words would go on longer than the
Magna Carta. Thanks to social media DOTI fans were spoiled and treated
to lots of ‘behind the scenes’ clips. I felt like I lived each training
session...each dance step….all of their emotions...the highs and a few
lows.. it was just so easy to get swept away with it all. I really have
lived & breathed TeamDoti for 7 months...and there aren’t enough
fabulous adjectives in the English Oxford Dictionary to describe them,
their journey and what we saw of their magical performances!
Even
though the show ended without the fair result and the tour has come
& passed (that’s another exciting story to be written) I am still
living it all. Collaborating on this wonderful tribute I have ventured
through all of their training, dancing & judging, producing
beautiful photo stills. And it has been pure joy watching it all in
slow-mo. The sheer joy and emotion on Danny and Oti’s faces as their
brilliance at story telling came through that dance. They have been
divine, sublime, exquisite and flamboyant all with astonishing elegance
in their incredible and intricate lifts, movements of precision and jaw
dropping finishes. Every move they made was strictly history in the
making... pushing boundaries more than any other pairing.
Oti
said she had never met a more strong, hard working and passionate
celebrity and that was there for everyone to see...albeit Danny was
the bookies favourite after that fantastic Cha Cha. I fear that his
desire for perfection, endless hours of training to deliver that perfect
performance worthy of a 40 probably was his undoing...we heard of his
supposed ‘past experience’ and saw Darcey on the Jonathan Ross show say
Danny wouldn’t have as much a journey as the others. Well yes the judges
did treat our boy more harshly and later Darcey admitted at Week 4 that
their amazing flawless and flowing Quickstep had been worthy of 10s and
that wasn’t the only week they were underscored. Many fans took to
social media to complain, either of his experience or his underscoring.
Danny
did set the record straight that he had never been a dancer of any
reckoning and his training was that of an actor...he knew what he had
taken in to the competition and giving credit to that for anything he
had achieved would be taking everything away from Oti and that wasn’t
fair because it was 100% down to her.. still it was too late. People
who had an issue with this wouldn’t be for turning. I cannot comment
any further as quite simply put, he was treated unfairly...he was damned
from the start. Still, while being treated harshly the judges gave some
brilliant reviews and deservedly so. And as ever we find our boy being
generous & humble as while he will always credit Oti for his/their
success.. as we know too well it takes two to tango. 😀
Our
beloved TeamDoti were dancing chameleons, they were quite simply the
fireball that set SCD 2016 alight...they dared to be different
regardless of the outcome and were true to themselves. Danny took on
both classical ballroom and Latin. Although he felt some of his greatest
achievements were in ballroom he took Latin by the horns also THAT
SAMBA YES THAT SAMBA but that Salsa too!!!
Throughout
Doti’s journey on social media I have met some wonderful ladies who
share my love of Doti. It has been said we are a little unhinged...with
me being the most unhinged apparently...but I’ll take that. I’m sure it
must seem that way to some...to develop such a
fascination...addiction...what? Why? How? We all developed our DOTI
adoration for different reasons...I set that series record for one
reason only, DANNY MAC, but no sooner had the season started I fell in
love with DOTI..
He
had a blast…dared to put himself out for public scrutiny...to bare
himself and his soul to millions of people…risking failure or success on
live TV…What a braveheart...and it more than paid off...he had the
experience and journey of a life time...had fabulous exposure…made some
wonderful friends. and met his darling Oti… genuine friends for life..
My dancing chameleons will forever dance on in my heart..
emotion on Danny and Oti’s faces as their
brilliance at story telling came through that dance. They have been
divine, sublime, exquisite and flamboyant all with astonishing elegance
in their incredible and intricate lifts, movements of precision and jaw
dropping finishes. Every move they made was strictly history in the
making... pushing boundaries more than any other pairing.
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