‘I forgot almost every move’ … Hislop with her dance partner, Tilemachos Fatsis, on Greek TV’s Dancing With the Stars in 2021. View image in fullscreen ‘I forgot almost every move’ … Hislop with her dance partner, Tilemachos Fatsis, on Greek TV’s Dancing With the Stars in 2021. A moment that changed me Dance A moment that changed me: I was heading for disaster on the Greek version of Strictly. Then instinct kicked in I was gripped by fear, aching all over – and still recovering from cancer treatment. But Dancing With the Stars was a joyous celebration of survival
Prefer the Guardian on Google I t was an invitation I accepted in a moment of madness – and, over the next three months, regretted many times a day. I was in over my head, often with my heels literally over my head: I’d signed up to appear on the Greek version of Strictly Come Dancing .
Dancing With the Stars, as it is called in Greece , follows the same format as its UK counterpart, with an identical studio, a matching shiny floor, even many of the same costumes that are hired out and circulated among the 70 or more international versions of the BBC show. Of course, it’s all in Greek – and in the season I took part in, Covid restrictions had been imposed, which intensified its strangeness.
I am British, but by the time of my appearance on Dancing With the Stars I had become a bestselling author in Greece. In 2010, my first novel, The Island, was adapted for a 26-part series, which achieved the country’s highest-ever ratings for a TV drama. In 2020, I was granted honorary citizenship by the Greek prime minister. All of this had made me a minor celebrity.
I never imagined the competition would be easy. The only woman older than me out of the dozen or so contestants was Bessy Argyraki, who had been a Eurovision entrant in 1977, while I was still at school. In the first week, when we found each other weeping in the ladies’, we became best friends. All the other women could do the splits, but we were still struggling to remember basic steps.
View image in fullscreen ‘My mind was left behind – along with my anxiety.’ There were six weeks of training and preparation and we were in the rehearsal room every day – except one, when I practised at home using a video I had recorded on my phone. I was exhausted, bruised, living on painkillers and suffering intense aches and pains – side-effects not just of my new dance regime, but also of a drug I was taking after cancer treatment six months earlier. If I had wanted a challenge, to celebrate survival, I had found it. And more.
The fear of the first “live” show was beyond anything I could have imagined. I couldn’t eat for two days before and during the rehearsal I forgot almost every move. The director was unimpressed, the choreographer was disappointed and my partner was furious. The dress rehearsal was even worse. Meanwhile, the other contestants – lithe Olympic athletes, glamorous TV presenters, models and media superstars – effortlessly glided their way through their dances.
I knew all my Greek friends would be watching. The Sunday night slot was a popular one and Star Channel was one of the most highly rated commercial stations.
I watched from the wings as one couple after another scored almost top marks, then I went to get my hair done, which involved an industrial can of spray to stiffen it into a solid helmet. One of my fake eyelashes had to be re-glued to my eyelid.
I retired to my dressing room, popped some painkillers and…