‘Strictly Come Dancing’ contestant Daisy Lowe has revealed that her grandfather passed away suddenly on the first day of rehearsals for the BBC One show. Eddie Davis, who was nicknamed Fast Eddie, had helped raise the model and had been excited to see her take part in ‘Strictly’.

Daisy LoweDaisy Lowe’s grandfather died on the first day of ‘Strictly’ rehearsals

Speaking to The Mirror she said: “It was all quite sudden. I was talking to him the day before. He was so excited about me doing the show.” Daisy was paired with pro Aljaz Skorjanec on last night’s launch show and says her friendship with fellow ­contestant Louise Redknapp helped her get through the tough time.

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“It was pretty tough and thank God I had Lou,” she continued. “She made it all better.” On Saturday’s launch show Daisy made sure to keep her grandfather close by and said she would be dancing for him.

“I’m wearing his watch, his shirt and his necklace. I’m going to be ­dancing for him. I’d quite like to dance to some of his favourite songs, too,” she continued. “I’m just trying to be with my family whenever I have time off.”

The model added that she now hopes to make her grieving ­grandmother Lee proud by competing on the show. “She’ll be here every week, as long as I stay in. She said, ‘You’d best stay in to do that tango,’” Daisy added.

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“My grandma has never missed an episode. She’s obsessed. She told me, ‘You’ve got to do Strictly. You can’t not do it.’ For my entire career I haven’t had to talk or really move. So it’ll be nice for people to get to know me.”