Strictly Come Dancing star Thomas Skinner has opened up about the devastating loss of his beloved grandmother and revealed her charming friendship with EastEnders legend Barbara Windsor.
The cockney announced his nan’s passing and honoured her memory with a touching photograph of the pair together at their dining table.
In an interview with Mirror, he explained his grandmother received her cancer diagnosis at the same time he learned of his place on The Apprentice back in 2019.
Sadly, his nan never managed to see any of the episodes as her condition deteriorated, despite being thrilled about his participation in the show, reports the Mirror.
Thomas paid tribute to his Nan on X -Credit:Twitter
He fondly remembered her as a “lovely east end queen” who spent evenings socialising with Barbara Windsor.
He explained: “I told her in January that I was going on the show and she was so happy. At the same time she found out she had the cancer and she got so ill that she never got to watch it.
“But she had such a good life and she was such a big part of my life. She was a lovely east end queen, she used to go out every night with Barbara Windsor back in the day. Proper east ender!”.
“Her and Barbara Windsor were really good friends. Yes, [the funeral] was a brilliant turnout.”
Following his tweet about his grandmother’s death, he was inundated with thousands of supportive messages from viewers. “The support I’m having from the public is lovely. Even when my nan died I had thousands of messages, it was lovely,” he said.
Thomas has been partnered with Amy Dowden in this year’s Strictly Come Dancing.