In a recent article by the The Times of London, award-winning author Victoria Hislop shared her thoughts on her latest Greek adventure … as an upcoming contestant on the Greek version of Dancing with the Stars.
Hislop gained celebrity status in Greece following the success of her 2005 novel The Island. The book was made into the hugely popular television series To Nisi in 2010 by Greek TV channel MEGA. Since then, the author has gone on to pen more novels set in Greece, including her 2016 Cartes Postales from Greece, which has also been serialized for Greek television.
For her devotion to Greece, and her untiring promotion of its modern history and culture, she was made an honorary Greek citizen in 2020.
In her latest Greek adventure, Hislop will grace Greek TV screens this fall as a contestant on the 7th season of Dancing with the Stars, appearing alongside her professional dance partner Telemachos Fatsis. Dividing her time between London and Athens, the author is now spending her days learning the steps to complicated dance routines with her young partner:
“I’m older than his mum,” she said in the interview. “He really is beautiful. A lot of the time I’m meant to be looking away from him, and the choreographer says, ‘Stop looking at him! You’re not meant to be looking at him!’ What do they expect me to do? They should have given me someone ugly!”
Victoria Hislop on doing Strictly (the Greek one): My partner is beautiful — I can’t stop looking at himhttps://t.co/W0oKXIVgHm
— Victoria Hislop (@VicHislop) October 11, 2021
A self-professed “superfan” of Strictly Come Dancing, the original British version of the show, she goes on to say in the Times interview that she is “thrilled to be part of something so joyful.”
Her partner, Telemachos Fatsis, has been involved in dance since the age of 15 and has participated and excelled in dance competitions in both Europe and America. They will be competing against Telemachos’ wife Elisavet Mantani, also a professional dancer, who is partnered with Edouard Stergiou, a former participant on “Greece’s Next Top Model,” and fourteen other celebrity/professional dance couples.
Still smiling after two weeks of training with my amazing partner Tilemachos for Greece’s “Dancing with the Stars” pic.twitter.com/mK3jWIH5As
— Victoria Hislop (@VicHislop) October 2, 2021
Beyond Dancing with the Stars, Hislop is spending more and more time in Greece researching her forthcoming books. Recently, she was in Crete for the film production of her Cartes Postales from Greece novel, which premiered on ERT 1 earlier this month.
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The popular dance competition television series premieres on STAR on October 17 and can be live-streamed here.
