'Devastated' Tess Daly's Strictly regret – 'Nobody knew how torn up I was'

Tess said although she looked the part on Strictly, she was “torn up” inside (Image: Getty Images for BAFTA)Get daily celeb exclusives and behind the scenes house tours direct to your inboxMore Newsletters SubscribePlease enter a valid emailSomething went wrong, please try again later.More NewslettersWe use your sign-up to provide content in ways you’ve consented to and improve our understanding of you. This may include adverts from us and third parties based on our knowledge of you. More infoThank you for subscribing!We have more newslettersShow me See OurPrivacy Notice See OurPrivacy Notice×Group 28 Get daily celeb exclusives and behind the scenes house tours direct to your inboxInvalid emailSomething went wrong, please try again later.Sign UpNo thanks, closeWe use your sign-up to provide content in ways you’ve consented to and improve our understanding of you. This may include adverts from us and third parties based on our knowledge of you. More info×Group 28Thank you for subscribing!We have more newslettersShow MeNo thanks, closeSee our
Privacy NoticeTess Daly opened up on her immense grief following the death of her father, admitting that she was “completely broken up on the inside” while filming Strictly Come Dancing. The presenter struggled with grief after losing her dad, Vivian Daly, who passed away from emphysema in 2003. In an unearthed interview from 2006, Tess spoke about experiencing deep pain, despite landing the nickname ‘Miss Sunshine’ by her former Strictly Come Dancing co-host, the late Bruce Forsyth. She told the Mirror: “It’s strange how people have this idea of you that is so far removed from reality. There’s no such thing as ‘having it all’. Life is full of downs as well as ups and I’ve certainly not had a charmed existence.

Tess said her dad would be so proud of her Strictly role
(Image: BBC/Ray Burmiston)

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“The show that turned things round for me was Strictly Come Dancing, but no one had any idea how torn up I was when I did that very first show. Yes, I made sure I looked the part and laughed and did everything I had to do, but I was completely broken up on the inside.” Landing the role on Strictly shortly after her father’s death was bittersweet for Tess, but she knew it was a show he would have adored watching her present. “My dad loved ballroom dancing. He got me into it when I was a kid. It was his sort of thing – old-fashioned, graceful. He just loved it. Everything about it would have appealed to my dad. He’d particularly liked to have seen me in the clothes I wear on the show. People may criticise the look because it’s not trendy, but those clothes are beautiful. I can just hear dad saying, ‘You look like a class act’. Now it is wonderful to think I’ve done something that would have really made my dad so very proud.” Tess’s journey to stardom has not been easy but she was helped to the top by the work ethic instilled in her by her parents. Vivian, a working-class man from the Peak District, and his wife Sylvia spent their lives doing shifts in textile factories to keep the family afloat.

Tess and Vernon come from very similar backgrounds
(Image: Dave Benett/Getty Images for BT)

“We were a normal, happy family,” explained Tess, who has a younger sister named Karen. “We certainly weren’t poor but we weren’t rich by any means. My dad started working at the age of 15 and never stopped.” She continued: “There were constant threats of redundancies all the time I was growing up, but my parents never stopped working. They’d do shifts, nights, anything, so we could have food, dancing lessons, holidays – all the things you take for granted. I didn’t get everything I wanted as a kid and I think that’s right. Being told, ‘No, you can’t have it because we can’t afford it’, was one of the best lessons my parents ever taught me. “It made me realise if I wanted a pair of Lycra shorts then I had to earn the money to buy them. I had to get a Saturday job and pay my way. It was that simple.” Vivian would think nothing of getting up at 4am for the early shift or returning home after midnight – whatever it took to put food on the table. He passed this belief in hard work on to Tess and Karen, who is now a teacher in New Zealand.

Tess and Vernon share two daughters, Phoebe and Amber
(Image: Dave Benett/ Getty Images for Gi)

“He worked from 15 to 65 and got his gold watch,” says Tess. “All he wanted then was to enjoy his retirement and take some time out to smell the roses. But his lungs had been poisoned and the doctors told him he had just two years left to live.” Vivian died 18 days after Tess married fellow TV presenter Vernon Kay in September 2003. The couple, who now share daughters Phoebe, 19, and Amber, 14, were on honeymoon at the time. “I fell apart,” says Tess, quietly. “I miss him so much, every day.” Tess also recalled taking Vernon to meet her family, and how her dad was able to walk her up the aisle before his sad death. “I knew they’d get on – and they did,” she says. “I’d lived all round the world and I brought home a boy from down the road in Bolton. What Vernon and I have in common are our backgrounds and our families. “His dad is a lorry driver and he’s been married to his mum for ever. They believe in hard work and being normal. His family is a reflection of mine. When I met him I knew he had the same values I had. I knew that what was important to him was important to me. The most important thing to us is our relationship and our family. Vernon isn’t anything like my dad in personality. My dad could fix anything, but if Vernon tries any DIY I know I’ll have to kiss goodbye to a couple of walls and then call in a professional. But he is an honourable, old-fashioned man – just like my dad was. “I know my dad was glad to see me with Vernon. Even though he was so ill when we got married he still wanted to walk me up the aisle. I’m glad he got to see us settled.””Story SavedYou can find this story in My Bookmarks.Or by navigating to the user icon in the top right.Follow OK! MagazineFacebookTwitterCommentMore OnStrictly Come DancingTess DalyVernon Kay

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