Singer Samantha Jade grew up appreciating dance, thanks to her mum Jacqui.
“My mum was a ballerina when she was younger and she just always loved dancing,” Samantha, 37, tells TV WEEK. “We would always go see the ballet when it came to town and she spoke so fondly about it because it was her thing. But for me, music has always been my thing.”
Jacqui, who passed away in 2014 after a battle with cancer, dreamed of her daughter going on Dancing With The Stars. But Samantha kept saying no to the show – till this year.
“I was always so nervous about it,” she explains. “I thought, ‘Oh, everyone’s going to assume that I can dance because I dance a little bit in my shows and music videos.’ Then I was like, ‘You know what, why not challenge yourself?’”
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Samantha says going on Dancing With The Stars has been one of the best experiences she’s had but also one of the hardest.
Luckily, her husband Pat Handlin was super-supportive throughout her weeks of training.
“When I’d come home, with all the blisters and the bruises, he was like, ‘Wow, this is crazy, how much work and effort you’re putting in!’” she remembers.
“He bought me every size band-aid you can think of, he bought the bruise cream… he really looked after me.”
This week on the show, Samantha channels actress and princess Grace Kelly to dance the foxtrot with her partner Gustavo Viglio.
“That was my favourite look,” she says. “And because I was channeling Grace Kelly I was hoping that I could have some of her grace!”
Samantha’s number-one focus is still her music, releasing her single “Peachy” late last month, but she’s also open to taking on more acting roles.
In 2016, she played Home And Away bad girl Isla Schultz, who was responsible for Kyle Braxton (Nic Westaway) going to jail. So would she return to Summer Bay?
“I don’t know if people would want to see my character back,” she admits. “My character was not nice. For about two years, I think people thought I really was her: ‘Oh my gosh, we can’t believe you got Nic Westaway off the show!’ I’m like, ‘I’m so sorry!’
“But of course, I loved my time on Home And Away. They were such a warm cast. Depending on my character… She’d have to come back and be a good girl, I think!”
