Former X Factor star and songstress Fleur East is no stranger to the pressures of a talent competition, so it's no wonder she's one of the favourites to make it all the way to the final of this year's Strictly Come Dancing.
And the Sax hitmaker - who was the runner-up on the X Factor in 2014 after previously competing back in 2005 as part of the group Addictiv Ladies - will be keeping her beloved late father Malcolm in her thoughts when she takes to the dancefloor for the second time this weekend, following his death from a heart attack in 2020.
Fleur was left devastated by Malcolm's passing, but has since said his passing has helped her "appreciate things more" and has even made her eager to start a family with her husband, fashion designer Marcel Badiane-Robin.
The 34-year-old singer admitted she still isn't "planning" to have children in the immediate future, but she isn't "waiting" for the right time anymore, and will instead let things "happen naturally".
She previously told MailOnline: "I appreciate things more. It's interesting because before I was like, 'I'll take it as it comes, I'm not in a rush, we've got time'. But as soon as you lose someone, you're like 'Wow! Okay'. You can't really plan for anything, nothing's promised.
"So it's changed my views on that definitely. I'm a bit more open to the idea of starting a family now. I'm still not planning it, but I'm not waiting and saying, 'I'll start in a year' or anything like that. We are just letting things happen naturally now!"
Fleur tied the knot with her long-term partner Marcel - who was the founder of the Marr Ldn brand before it ceased production last year - back in 2019 in a ceremony that was held in the beautiful Atlas Mountains in Morocco.
The singer said she was "so grateful" for her wedding, and has admitted it means even more to her now that her father has passed away, as she cherishes the moment in which he walked her down the aisle.
She told Hello!: "Gosh, we're so grateful. He got to walk me up the aisle and we have all those amazing memories as a family, not just as a couple, so that's been comforting.
"The feelings still come in waves – I see something and it reminds me and I get upset. Then I'll see something that makes me smile, so it's ups and downs. His birthday was always around Father's Day, so everything is a reminder, constantly."
Fleur also said that she loved spending lockdown with her husband and had celebrated a low-key first wedding anniversary in 2020 when they were unable to go out to celebrate.
When the world began to open up again after lockdown, Fleur even said she wasn't looking forward to having to spent time away from Marcel as they both went back to work.
She said: "My lockdown has been good. We usually don't get a lot of time together, so whenever we can, we make the most of our time. So, for us, we've found that being together is what we need, it's made us stronger.
"As a couple, we're stronger together, so I'm actually not looking forward to being apart from him for too long.”
And while Fleur was heartbroken over the death of her father, she believes she has received a "sign" from him wishing her "all the luck in the world" with her stint on Strictly.
Her cousin recently went to see a medium, who told her she had a message from someone on the other side called Malcolm, whose daughter was a performer. According to the medium, Malcolm said the daughter was "about to start an adventure".
The medium said: "He says to tell her I'm so proud of her and give her all the luck in the world."
*Strictly continues tonight at 6.30pm on BBC One.
What do you think of this year's Strictly lineup? Have your say in the comments section below...
