STRICTLY star HELEN Skelton is currently tearing up the ballroom with her dance partner Gorka Marquez.
Spanish pro Gorka delivered a passionate speech at the weekend encouraging Helen to have more self-belief, and her Countryfile co-star Charlotte Smith says the “fantastic” presenter can achieve anything she puts her mind to.
Helen Skelton achieves everything she puts her mind to, her Countryfile co-star has said
Charlotte Smith is a big Strictly fan
Charlotte teamed up with Isabella, 10, for this year’s Children In Need Ramble
In an exclusive interview to support Countryfile’s Ramble for Children In Need, Charlotte says: “There is nothing Helen Skelton can’t do. I’m pretty sure if you said to Helen Skelton ‘we need to go to Mars,’ she’d find a way of doing it. She’s the most fantastic woman. I’m really, really proud of her.”
Arguably the surprise of the Strictly series so far has been wildlife expert Hamza Yassin.
The softly spoken CBBC star has been catapulted to show favourite amongst bookies following an incredible samba on Saturday.
His dancing ability certainly took Charlotte by surprise following a fond Children In Need project they worked on together years ago.
She says: “Hamza, who I met by a Scottish castle once, again with Children in Need actually.
“We had some kids whose father had died rather traumatically and one of them was a budding photographer, so we introduced him to Hamza, who is one of the most gentle, loveliest people you will ever meet.
“So when I saw he was on Strictly I thought ‘Oh poor Hamza, he won’t last very long’. Oh my god, he’s brilliant. Who saw that coming?”
Charlotte is the first to admit Countryfile is one of the less glamorous shows on TV, with no need for a hair and makeup department as its presenters explore the great outdoors in all conditions.
But that hasn’t dimmed her love for it in the slightest, and she merrily refers to it as her “dream” job.
Would she be tempted to follow in Helen’s footsteps and swap hiking through fields for a nimble-footed quickstep?
She laughs: “I’m not sure my bionic knee would be up to Craig’s [Revel-Horwood] standards.”
Charlotte had a full knee replacement two years ago and it’s led to some additional challenges when she’s out in the field.
“Since I had my knee done I don’t like stiles,” she says. “I find them very difficult because my bionic knee, my replacement knee, doesn’t bend quite… so that’s very inelegant. Another presenter you might see doing the stiles but for me it’s too embarrassing so we cut that out.”
Fortunately her ramble for Children In Need didn’t feature any tricky obstacles.
She met up with autistic 10-year-old Isabella, from Wakefield, who has an assistant dog called Storm to help with everyday life.
Together they had a ramble in the Peaks and enjoyed seeing cows, woodland and a toad.
Charlotte says: “I’m really proud to be part of it. She’s a lovely kid. She’s really into nature. She just bounds off and finds something and brings it back and talks about it. Just hearing from her family about the change the dog has made, particularly to Isabella, but to their lives was amazing. When you have a child with additional needs, that can have a real impact across the family.
“Getting your children up in the morning when you’ve also got your own deadlines going on is a real flash-point in a family. Particularly for Isabella, she hated getting out of bed, she didn’t want to put the school uniform on, so before they’d even got to getting in the car to go to school everybody had lost their temper and everybody was cross.
“So now Storm the dog goes in and wakes her up and she’s all happy and lovely because he’s a big beautiful dog and all slopping and gorgeous ,and then he bounds off and gets her uniform and then she’s up and on her way to breakfast and not one has had an argument.”
The ramble has become a much-loved part of Children In Need with people all over the country taking part.
Charlotte recalls its origins, saying: “I remember when this was just an idea and we were like will everyone do it, because the calendar has been so successful over so many years and the idea of introducing something else is always a bit nerve-wracking but people have really taken it to their hearts.”
The Countryfile Ramble for BBC Children in Need will be broadcast on BBC One on Sunday 6th November at 17.05.
The Countryfile team are big supporters of the charity
