With his tight trousers and snake hips, Will Mellor has fast become the heartthrob of this year’s Strictly Come Dancing.
And there’s one woman who’s reaping all the rewards of his gruelling training schedule for the BBC show – his wife of 15 years, Michelle McSween.
According to Will, she’s loving his new physique after seeing him shed the pounds and become the fittest he has “felt in years”.
So is the Coronation Street actor enjoying his sex symbol status as much as Strictly fans are distracted by his bulging biceps and tight trousers?
“Sex symbol? Those are your words!” he laughs. “My wife certainly doesn’t mind… I look good now.
“I’m 46 – I’m not a young man anymore, but I feel the fittest I’ve felt in years. It’s really good.
“My friends call me ‘Snake Hips Mellor’. I’ve been getting all that…
“It’s a shame that when Strictly finishes, it’s not summer so I can get my shirt off on a beach somewhere.
“I might have to fly somewhere hot when this is all over just so I can get my new body out!”
While Will’s dancer wife might love his new body and his mates poke fun at his new pin-up status, the actor says his children – Jayden, 18, and 13-year-old Renee – are less than impressed.
“My kids don’t find it cool when I’m dancing around the house,” he says. “They tell me to sit down and stop it.”
But unfortunately for them, Will says he can’t control his “snake hips”.
“I just let myself go,” he says. “Music flows through me and the hips just take over. I can’t help it!”
But while he’s happy to wear the glam Strictly costumes, sequins and all, Will “draws the line at fake tan”.
“I don’t want to look like I’ve got brown sauce rubbed all over me,” he chuckles.
The actor has finally got a spring back in his step after being struck down with a virus that left him bedbound.
He was only able to put in one day of training last week and admitted he was asleep in his dressing room before his rumba to The Joker and the Queen by Ed Sheeran.
Despite his illness, the judges didn’t go easy on the former favourite.
He and dance partner Nancy Xu, 31, scored just 23 points, putting them second to last on the leaderboard.
“I wasn’t happy with the scores, obviously,” admits Will. “I’d had a really bad week, been really poorly and I was aching all over. But I really wanted to dance because there was an important message I wanted to get across.
“I have to learn to take criticism better… it’s a kick in the teeth, especially from Craig - a four?!
“It’s not nice to be at the bottom of the leaderboard but I just have to take it, move on and be thankful the public voted us through.”
The “important message” Will is talking about is men’s mental health, and how guys should be encouraged to talk about their feelings more.
He dedicated his rumba to the cause and revealed he’d struggled following the death of his dad Bill, who passed away within two weeks of being diagnosed with cancer in 2020.
It’s not the first tragedy to rock the family. Will is the youngest of five and grew up with his four older sisters.
But his sister Joanne, who was born with Marfan syndrome, died unexpectedly in 2012 aged 44.
Tonight Strictly will celebrate the BBC’s 100th anniversary with the contestants dancing to the Beeb’s most iconic TV theme tunes.
Will feels privileged to be part of the landmark episode, for while he shot to fame as Jambo in Channel 4 ’s Hollyoaks in the ‘90s, he credits his time on the BBC comedy Two Pints Of Lager and a Packet of Crisps for giving his career a real boost.
Will, who is originally from Bredbury, Gtr Manchester, made his TV debut on BBC’s Children’s Ward in 1990 before joining Hollyoaks in 1995.
He moved on to Two Pints in 2001 and has since had roles in Casualty, EastEnders, Broadchurch, No Offence and Line of Duty.
He joined Corrie as bad guy Harvey Gaskell last year.
Tonight, the actor will be dancing the Viennese Waltz to Line of Duty’s theme tune, penned by Carly Paradis.
“Obviously it’s about bent cops, so I’m interrogating Nancy at the start of the routine,” he reveals.
“But it’s not clear who is the baddie and who’s the goodie until the end of the dance. We’ve tried to leave it open like they do in Line of Duty.”
Will adds: “The BBC has just been a constant part of my life. From Two Pints of Lager to dramas like Line of Duty, I’m very grateful for how they’ve enabled me to grow as an actor.”
Now he’s got his health back, Will is determined to return to the top of the leaderboard, but the most important thing for him is to make his family proud. “I’d be a liar if I said I didn’t want to go the distance,” he says.
“As long as my mum Shirley and my family are happy with what I’ve done, that means more to me. But I’d love to have the full experience.
“If you’re going to do it, you might as well go the full way…”
