Strictly champion Bill Bailey reveals he almost set himself on FIRE during the show’s live finale

Strictly Come Dancing champion Bill Bailey has revealed he almost set himself on fire during the show’s live finale on Saturday.

The comedian, 55, spoke about the mishap during an appearance on Monday’s Lorraine, which his Strictly co-star Ranvir Singh helmed for the day.

Bill, who beat Maisie Smith, HRVY and Jamie Laing to the glitterball, explained how he almost caused a fire on the set after he and Jamie missed their ‘count on’ at the very beginning of the show.

Mistake: Strictly Come Dancing champion Bill Bailey revealed he almost set himself on FIRE during the show’s live finale on Saturday after tripping over a pyrotechnic box

Detailing what happened, Bill said: ‘The stage manager said, “No I will count you in.” We said OK… and then Jamie and I were like, “We are fine between the two of us we can count to eight”.

‘And just as I said that, I kicked over one of the pyrotechnic boxes, tripped over that and nearly fell down the stairs. I was like, “We cant be left alone for a second”.

‘I thought that would be a great way to start the show – Bill Bailey has ignited his trousers and he fire alarm goes off, and I fall over and set fire to the studio!’ 

Oops: Bill explained that before his first dance of the night he almost caused a fire on the set after he and Jamie Laing missed their 'count on' at the very beginning of the show

Oops: Bill explained that before his first dance of the night he almost caused a fire on the set after he and Jamie Laing missed their ‘count on’ at the very beginning of the show

Mistake: While waiting to be counted on, Bill said he ‘kicked over one of the pyrotechnic boxes, tripped over that and nearly fell down the stairs’ by accident

Bill  won the show’s coveted glitterball trophy with his professional partner Oti Mabuse, who made history after becoming the first pro to win the accolade twice in a row.

The victory turned Oti into Strictly’s first ever back-to-back champion after she first won the show in 2019 with Kelvin Fletcher. 

She praised her celebrity partner for being ‘a friend, father figure and brother,’ after they beat HRVY, Maisie and Jamie in the final. 

Oti fought back tears as she said: ‘I think you are amazing, remarkable Bill Bailey, you just put your heart into everything. 

Winners! Bill won the show's coveted glitterball trophy with his professional partner Oti Mabuse, who made history after becoming the first pro to win the accolade twice in a row

Winners! Bill won the show’s coveted glitterball trophy with his professional partner Oti Mabuse, who made history after becoming the first pro to win the accolade twice in a row

‘You’re in your world, but I love your world and I always want to be a part of you, thank you for being a friend, thank you for being a father figure and a brother and for this!’ as she gestured to the sparkling trophy.’

Earlier in the show Bill and Oti delivered a fierce Showdance complete with pyrotechnics, lifts, and plenty of drama, to Queen’s The Show Must Go On with even Craig gushing it ‘reeked of desperation and he loved it.’

The duo received their first ever 30 for the performance, and the first perfect score of the evening, with Bill fighting back tears as he vowed the dance was a symbol of the nation carrying on during such unprecedented times.

Fiery: Bill and Oti delivered a fierce Showdance complete with pyrotechnics, lifts, and plenty of drama, to Queen's The Show Must Go On

Fiery: Bill and Oti delivered a fierce Showdance complete with pyrotechnics, lifts, and plenty of drama, to Queen’s The Show Must Go On

They also performed a energetic Quickstep to Talk To The Animals by Bobby Darin and their Couple’s Choice hip-hop routine to Rapper’s Delight by The Sugar Hill Gang.  

On Monday, Bill admitted that his win was clouded with a tinge of sadness as he thought of his late mother.

He revealed that his mind was on his beloved mother Madryn, who he lost to bowel cancer back in 2005, as he claimed: ‘It was quite emotional anyway as it was going to be the last time we were dancing. 

‘But it did make me think of my mum, firstly, because my mum died 15 years ago and I did think about her a lot on the day. 

‘She loved ballroom dancing. In fact, she wanted me to take it up when I was a kid. She got me to take a couple of lessons when I was a teenager but of course, I was a teenager and I thought, “I don’t want to do ballroom dancing”. 

‘But I know she would have been so proud. This would have been her proudest moment.’   

In her honour: During the interview, Bill admitted that his win was clouded with a tinge of sadness as he thought of his late mother Madryn, who he lost to bowel cancer back in 2005

In her honour: During the interview, Bill admitted that his win was clouded with a tinge of sadness as he thought of his late mother Madryn, who he lost to bowel cancer back in 2005