Ed Balls has revealed how his Home Secretary wife Yvette Cooper saved him from playing the role of a ‘paedophile’ in Strictly Come Dancing movie week.

The Good Morning Britain presenter and former Cabinet minister was a contestant on series 14 of the BBC competition and survived until week 10. 

He was coupled up with professional dancer Katya Jones who told him after his ‘cautious’ week one waltz that he needed to ‘let go’ and assume the character he was dancing for his week two Charleston.’

The dance went well which prompting BBC show bosses to ask Ed to dance to Jerry Lee Lewis’s Great Balls of Fire for movie week.

But when he told his wife that he would be playing the role of Lewis, she pointed out that the American singer’s career came unstuck after his marriage to Myra Brown, his 13-year-old first cousin once removed, was revealed.

Speaking about his improvement during his time on Strictly, the ITV presenter revealed on the Walking The Dog with Emily Dean podcast how he and show bosses were saved from embarrassment.

He said: ‘I learned to put myself aside, my inhibitions aside, assume the character and just go.

‘In politics you are always yourself in performance, whereas what you’re actually allowed to do in entertainment is put yourself slightly to the side and then go to the character.

‘The Charleston had worked, and I thought “I’ve got a real chance of getting through” because the audience reaction was great’, and then they’d said they wanted me to do Jerry Lee Lewis, Great Balls of Fire for movie week.

‘They wanted me to come down from the ceiling on a flaming piano.

‘But two in the morning we’re driving back from Elstree and Yvette’s on her phone and she says “Do you know this movie, where you’re going to assume the lead character, you do realise that the biopic it’s based upon is where he has an affair with his 13-year-old cousin”.

‘She said “I think this makes Katya the 13-year-old and you the paedophile – I think this is a bad idea”.

‘So I said “Oh my God”. I then rang the producers on Sunday morning at 10am and said “I don’t think I can do this one”.

‘They said “Give us an hour”. And they came back and said “we want you do The Mask, Jim Carrey, and Cuban Pete, the Samba”.

‘I said “Only if I can have a green face, do not do it by halves, let me be Jim Carrey, the mask with the green face”.

‘That was fabulous – the green make-up was so cool. It took three people 50 minutes.’

It comes after an ITV boss has vowed never to repeat letting Home Secretary Yvette be interviewed on Good Morning Britain by her own husband Ed.

The broadcaster’s chief executive Dame Carolyn McCall made the promise as media watchdog Ofcom announced it would not pursue an investigation.

Thousands of people made official complaints to the regulator about the episode of the breakfast show on August 5 which included Yvette being questioned over the Labour government’s handling of last month’s UK-wide riots.

Her husband Ed – a former Labour MP and Education Secretary- was presenting the programme alongside Kate Garraway on the morning his wife was interviewed.

Dame Carolyn today said: ‘Would we do it again? No. Was it impartial, fair and balanced? And did they behave professionally? Yes.’

Ed is now a regular GMB host after losing his seat in 2015 and pursuing a media career.

Ed and Yvette, who became Home Secretary after Labour won the general election on July 4, have been married since 1998.

Many critics raised concerns about an apparent conflict of interest when the August 5 was broadcast live – with some suggesting Ed should have stepped aside.

Ofcom said last week that it has ‘carefully’ considered that issue, but would not pursue action. 

A spokeperson said: ‘Taking into account that their relationship was made clear twice, that a range of views about Labour’s handling of the riots were included in the programme as a whole, and given the vast majority of the interview was conducted by co-presenter, Kate Garraway, we will not be pursuing further.’

But Ofcom added it had given ITV a warning ‘to take particular care over the compliance of such interviews in future to ensure due impartiality’.

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Source: CNN