A former Tayside Commando trainer has become a Strictly convert after a surprise mention by one of the contenders for the 2020 glitterball.
Willie Stoops put series star JJ Chalmers through his paces on terrain including the Barry Buddon military ranges in Angus as the young Scot worked towards securing the prestigious Royal Marines green beret.
But JJ – who suffered horrific injuries in a 2011 Afghanistan IED blast which claimed the lives of two friends – said the training demands of his “bad cop” Colour Sergeant paled against the pressure applied by professional partner Amy Dowden in pursuit of Paso Doble mastery as the 18th series of the BBC hit show hit the screens.
A Watch Commander with Scottish Fire and Rescue Service at Blackness Road station in Dundee, Willie spent almost 30 years with the Dundee detachment of the Royal Marines Reserve, training men for the elite service.
Among them was the former Kirk Moderator’s son who battled back from frontline tragedy to become an Invictus Games gold medallist and has gone on to forge a successful television career fronting special events including the Trooping the Colour, the Lord Mayor’s Show and D Day 75.
After wowing Saturday’s show with the Latin dance, presenter Tess Daly told JJ his performance had been the “Marines mentality in action.”
Co-host Claudia Winkleman then revealed JJ had said Commando training was a breeze compared to ballroom.
JJ, who suffered serious facial injuries, lost two fingers and saw his right elbow destroyed in the Helmand blast, joked: “There are Sergeants in the Marines less strict than Amy.
“We had two Sergeants, Dave O’Neill and Willie Stoops and they were bad cop, bad cop, but she can be both good cop and bad cop,” said the 33-year-old dad.
Willie, 49, from Monifieth, was glued to Six Nations rugby at the time, but was soon flooded with texts from service pals ribbing him over his new-found fame.
“My phone was going bananas,” said JJ’s former troop Sergeant. “My wife watches it and I didn’t but now he’s got through, I’m definitely converted.
“We are all immensely proud of him as a person, to see him come back from his injuries and do the things he has done, including Strictly now, is a miracle.
“It’s amazing to watch him on there, but everyone who knows him knows how brilliant he is.
“We took him right through recruit training from the Royal Marines Reserve and he then passed out and was seconded on the operational tour in Afghanistan before he was injured there.
“It has been a long, long road of recovery, but his is one of those very strong individuals and to see that Commando determination on the screen is amazing.
“There has been a bit of Twitter banter between us, but we are all really behind him and hope he can go on in the series.”
Willie said the television dancer’s fancy footwork would also be coming in for special scrutiny from his forces pals.
“Anyone who has been in the Marines knows a thing which we call the bootneck shuffle – JJ has taken that to a different level on Strictly!”
