Strictly star George Clarke reveals his unconventional social media career was ‘hard for his family to get their heads around’ – but his very successful father watches every video

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George Clarke, known for his no-nonsense approach, says his family has found it difficult to understand his move into creating YouTube videos. However, his supportive father has made sure to watch every single one.

After a 25-year-old social media personality was confirmed as a contestant on a BBC show, it came out that his family has connections within the industry – he’s what’s known as a ‘nepo baby.’

George’s father, Sean Clarke, leads Aardman Animations, the renowned British studio famous for creating Wallace and Gromit.

I’ve always been so impressed by a real career journey, and George’s dad, Sean, is a perfect example. He started with the company way back in 1998 and really worked hard, eventually becoming a co-producer on fantastic projects like ‘Early Man’ and both ‘Shaun the Sheep’ movies. It was amazing to see all his dedication pay off when he was named head of the entire company in 2019!

George told The Mail on Sunday that it took some getting used to for his friends and family when he chose such an unusual career path, but they’ve always been supportive and now enjoy watching him compete on Strictly.

He explained that his family has always been incredibly supportive of his career, even though it’s unconventional. He admitted it can be difficult for people to understand how making videos in his room became his job, but his family has consistently been there for him.

Clarke started his TikTok account in December 2019 and soon after began posting videos on YouTube. He’s now gained a large following – over 3 million people across TikTok, YouTube, Instagram, and Twitch.

He also co-hosts the popular podcast, The Useless Hotline, with Max Balegde. Its success has led to live shows throughout the UK.

And despite his father’s demanding workload, he never misses one of George’s YouTube videos.

He shared that his dad and grandfather have consistently watched all of his online videos. While his grandmother has always been a source of encouragement, he was glad to give her something concrete to show for his work – something she could easily understand. She’s even been telling her friends, who don’t usually vote in these things, that she’s using all five of her votes for him.

My uncle got in trouble with my aunt one week because he’d used four of his votes for me and only one for Vicky!

Only a couple of weeks ago, George became emotional and cried while dedicating his performance to his mother, who is bravely fighting cancer.

He danced a moving Rhumba with his professional partner, Alexis Warr, which brought tears to the eyes of both the viewers at home and head judge Shirley Ballas.

He shared an update about his mother, Nicky, with The Mail on Sunday. He said she’s doing well and staying positive. Whenever they ask how she’s feeling, she quickly changes the subject and doesn’t dwell on any difficulties.

She’s very caring and always asks how I’m doing with my dance lessons, and if I’m eating well. It really shows her optimistic nature and how much she wants things to get better for me.

The influencer had previously shared that his mother suffered a severe case of encephalitis, a condition that required intensive care and caused her to lose recognition of him.

Encephalitis is a rare but severe illness that causes swelling in the brain, potentially leading to confusion and memory problems.

He remembered watching his mum being taken away in a wheelchair, and being heartbroken that she didn’t seem to know who he was. That summer involved a lot of trips to the hospital while she worked on remembering her family. At one point, she even mistakenly called him “Fat Boy”!

George shared that he’s become friends with Strictly Come Dancing host Claudia Winkleman, who is 53 years old.

‘Our chats are just utter nonsense. It is just sarcastic remarks back and forth,’ he explained.

Alexis added: ‘I love hearing yours and Claudia’s conversations. It is so entertaining, I love it.’

George added that Claudia and Tess have been consistently kind and considerate, genuinely interested in how everyone is doing. He hasn’t seen any change in how they act, whether they’re on or off camera.

George received three perfect scores last weekend at Blackpool for his Samba, and he’s now aiming for another great performance with Alexis in the Quickstep, set to Frank Sinatra’s “I Get A Kick Out Of You.”

On Saturday, the remaining celebrity contestants and their professional dance partners will face a new challenge called Instant Dance.

Okay, so here’s what’s happening with the dances: each couple will randomly select a style from all the ones we’ve covered in the competition up to this point. It keeps things exciting and tests their versatility – you never know what they’ll get!

Next, the music for each dance will play, and the couples will quickly change into their costumes. They’ll then have only 10 seconds to decide how they want to perform the dance.

After all six couples perform on Strictly, the judges will score them and give out bonus points.

The judges will score each Instant Dance performance, awarding up to six points to the best performance and as little as one point to the weakest. Each couple will receive a score based on how impressed the judges were with their dance.

Strictly Come Dancing continues on Saturday and is available to stream on BBC iPlayer.

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2025-12-01 01:08