Ed Balls has been put on a booze ban.
The politician and his partner Katya Jones are determined to impress with their jive in this week’s ‘Strictly Come Dancing’ special in Blackpool but, in order to ensure their routine goes off with a bang, the brunette beauty has told the former Shadow Chancellor he has to curb his late nights and refrain from guzzling beer after 11pm.
Ed explained to the Daily Mirror newspaper: "My days of two hours’ sleep in Blackpool are long gone. Katya would absolutely not approve, she thinks we should be calling it an early night at 11 o’clock and she thinks Ovaltine [a malted drink] is a better nightcap than anything else. So unfortunately I’m going to be in a strict regime in Blackpool. I’m on the Katya curfew this time, it’s probably the only way I’m going to survive this jive."
However, Ed will no doubt struggle to keep a lid on his antics as the 49-year-old star is used to letting his hair down when he hits the popular seaside resort in England.
He said: "I’ve been to Blackpool a lot because every other year Labour had our party conference there. I’ve got loads of stories about my time in Blackpool but they’re not printable.
"I remember being in the Metropole Hotel knowing it was time to finally go ti bed when the camera crews were setting up BBC Breakfast News at five in the morning.
"We’d go catch a couple hours of sleep before coming back down again with Gordon Brown when he was going on air."
Ed hit the headlines last week when his Salsa routine to ‘Gangnam Style’ by PSY proved a huge hit with viewers but he’s not convinced his upcoming performance will be as impressive as he’s got to be lowered to the dance floor on a piano.
He explained: "It’s a jive so it’s very fast and, according to Katya, it’s very tough. The piano coming down was a surprise to me but I’ve come to terms with it.
"It’s a very dance intensive but there’s also a bit of Elvis thrown in and The Housemartins in the dance, which Katya didn’t get because she wasn’t even born then. She asked me to show her my moves and she incorporated them into the dance. It’s a move I did as a 20-year-old student."
Ed Balls is on booze ban
