Ed Balls ‘saved’ from Strictly ‘paedophile’ scandal by wife Yvette Cooper: ‘I think this is a bad idea’

Former politician Ed Balls was saved from PR disaster by his wife Yvette Cooper during his stint on Strictly Come Dancing in 2016.

He has found himself in hot water more recently, too. Good Morning Britain viewers called him out for “fat-shaming” Charlotte Hawkins in July.

Audiences took to social media to express their “embarrassment” after another recent broadcast of the show in which Ed Balls discussed matters political.

And they blasted yet another interview – this time with wife Yvette – for the “huge conflict of interest” it presented.

Yikes. Thank goodness he avoided stepping in it at least once!

Ed competed on Strictly Come Dancing in 2016 (Credit: Good Morning Britain/YouTube)

Yvette Cooper saved husband Ed Balls from Strictly Come Dancing scandal

Ed Balls – on Saturday Kitchen Best Bites this weekend (August 24) – was a contestant on series 14 of Strictly Come Dancing, in 2016. He lasted until week 10, eventually losing out to Ore Oduba and Joanne Clifton. Louise Redknapp and Danny Mac were runners-up.

He was partnered with Katya Jones, who urged him to loosen up after a “cautious” first week.

For the second week, they had to prepare a routine that related to a popular movie. Ed and Katya were due to dance to Great Balls of Fire, by Jerry Lee Lewis, but Ed’s wife Yvette Cooper flagged it as a potential PR disaster.

“They wanted me to do Jerry Lee Lewis, Great Balls Of Fire for movie week,” he said during an episode of the Walking The Dog With Emily Dean podcast.

“They wanted me to come down from the ceiling in a flaming piano.”

In the end, for movie week he danced to Cuban Pete as Jim Carrey from The Mask (Credit: BBC Strictly Come Dancing/YouTube)

‘I think that makes Katya the 13 year old and you the paedophile’

It took a conversation with Yvette Cooper, whom Ed married in 1998, to help him see that it wasn’t the best idea.

“Two in the morning and we’re driving back from Elstree [studios]. Yvette’s on the phone and she says: ‘Do you know this movie, where you’re going to assume the lead character? You do realise that, in the biopic it’s based on, he has an affair with his 13-year-old cousin?’

“She said: ‘I think that makes Katya the 13 year old and you the paedophile. I think this is a bad idea.’ I 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.'”

In the end, he and Katya danced to Cuban Pete from The Mask, scoring 24 and proceeding safely through to the next round.

Phew. Thanks, Yvette!

Catch Ed Balls on Saturday Kitchen Best Bites on Sunday (August 24) at 10am on BBC Two.

Read more: GMB host Ed Balls addresses ‘immense pain’ and absence from screens

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