Nigel Harman on Strictly
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Strictly star Nigel Harman’s sadness over tragic loss of both his parents to cancer: ‘At least she saw me act as a child’

Nigel was 18 when his mum died

Star of Strictly Nigel Harman might be a successful actor, however, his parents sadly weren’t around to experience much of it.

Throughout his career, Nigel has portrayed roles in EastEnders, Plus One and Hotel Babylon, to name a few. More recently, he is known for being a regular face in Casualty. Outside of television, he has starred in a number of musicals including Shrek, Guys and Dolls, and I Can’t Sing!.

Despite so many noteworthy jobs, Nigel hasn’t been able to celebrate all his victories with his parents.

Nigel Harman on Strictly
Nigel Harman has many noteworthy roles (Credit: BBC)

Nigel’s mum died when he was 18

In 2003, Nigel landed himself his breakthrough role as Dennis Rickman in the BBC soap opera EastEnders. He was around 30 years old at the time. Prior to EastEnders, Nigel had previously worked as a child actor in the 1980s.

His mum, Maureen, tragically died from cancer when he was 18, therefore, she was unable to see how far her son had come. His dad, Derek, however, was able to follow some of his journey. But, sadly, he died from leukaemia in 2006, a year after Nigel left EastEnders.

“Dad was always thrilled with my career,” he told the Mail Online in 2011. “And at least my mother saw me act as a child.”

Nigel Harman on Strictly
Nigel lost his parents when he was young (Credit: BBC)

Nigel’s regular job before EastEnders

Before portraying a bad boy heart-throb in EastEnders, Nigel worked as a Sainsbury’s delivery driver. While he had ambitions of being a successful actor, the job wasn’t something he looked back on negatively.

“I wanted a change from the kind of roles I was being offered, so I delivered people’s food in an orange fleece for three months while I waited for the right part,” he said.

Nigel continued: “It was good for the soul – and important experience. As actors, we’re trying to re-create human life, but a lot of us go from drama school to acting without ever living in the mainstream.”

Read more: Nigel Harman’s ‘heartbreaking’ news ahead of Strictly 2023 debut

Strictly is on Saturday (September 23) at 6.15pm on BBC One.

Meet Nigel Harman ✨ BBC Strictly 2023

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Fabio Magnocavallo
Freelance Writer