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Greg Wise pays moving 'Strictly' disco tribute to beloved late sister

Strictly Greg Wise Karen Hauer
Greg Wise paid a moving tribute to his sister. (BBC)

Greg Wise has given an emotional disco-themed Strictly Come Dancing performance dedicated to his late sister, Clare.

The actor spoke movingly about having cared for his sister in the final year of her life, before she passed away from cancer in 2016.

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Wise, 55, and his dance partner Karen Hauer were the first pair to take on the Couple's Choice theme this series and opted for disco in tribute to Clare.

After his performance, an emotional Wise told host Claudia Winkleman: "People who leave us have never left us, they come back, we can dance with them, and that was what this is about."

WARNING: Embargoed for publication until 00:00:01 on 15/09/2021 - Programme Name: Strictly Come Dancing 2021 - TX: n/a - Episode: Strictly Come Dancing - Generics (No. n/a) - Picture Shows: *NOT FOR PUBLICATION UNTIL 00:01HRS, WEDNESDAY 15th SEPTEMBER, 2021* Greg Wise - (C) BBC - Photographer: Ray Burmiston
Greg Wise spoke about having been his sister's carer. (BBC/Ray Burmiston)

Speaking about his reasons for choosing disco while they were rehearsing for the dance, Wise told the heartbreaking story of losing his sister.

He said: "My gorgeous sister Clare would always have disco music on whenever we came round so I wanted to dedicate it to my sister, the disco queen."

Wise, who is married to Emma Thompson, said that he had cared for Clare at the end of her life and wanted to express his love for her through the dance to Ultra Nate's If You Could Read My Mind.

LONDON, ENGLAND - OCTOBER 20:  Greg Wise (R) and sister Claire attend an after party for the Closing Night Gala European Premiere of
Greg Wise with his sister Clare. (David M. Benett/Getty Images)

He said: "It's one of the hardest things when you are with someone you love witnessing their pain and their fear and to work out what you are able to do to mitigate that."

Wise and Thompson's daughter Gaia also appeared to explain that he had been Clare's sole carer before her death.

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He added of the experience: "It's an extraordinary privilege to be able to care in that way and the trauma and the care wrap themselves up together."

Head judge Shirley Ballas, who spoke last year about having lost her brother years earlier, also looked emotional as she held back tears in her judging.

Programme Name: Strictly Come Dancing 2021 - TX: n/a - Episode: Strictly Come Dancing - Generics (No. n/a) - Picture Shows:   - (C) BBC - Photographer: Ray Burmiston
Wise and Hauer were the first to take on the Couple's Choice. (BBC/Ray Burmiston)

She told him: "The whole thing for me was just moving, so well done."

Unfortunately, Wise and Hauer's dance drew some low scores including a three from Craig Revel Horwood, but the judges agreed that the storytelling of the dance had been moving.

Watch: Who is Strictly's Greg Wise?