Joey Essex’s rarely seen nan Linda looks glamorous as she cheers him on from Dancing On Ice audience
DANCING On Ice star Joey Essex had the support of his entire family during the show’s final – even his rarely seen nan Linda Sims was in the audience to cheer him on.
Joey, 32, shared with fans that he was prepared to give his final performance his all, and viewers were pleased to see Linda, who has been the skater’s rock since his mum tragically died when he was a child, sat in the audience rooting him on.
But she was not the only one, Towie star James ‘Diags’ Bennewith was sat next to Linda in the audience. Joey also had the backing of his cousins Chloe, Demi and Frankie, who now live in LA.
Taking to her Instagram, Chloe posted a video saying: “Hey Joey, I just wanted to say you are doing really, really well. I’m so so proud of you, I’ve loved watching your journey and I’m sending you lots of luck all the way from LA.”
And Demi and Frankie also posted their message of support. They said: “Hi Joey, Frankie and Demi here. Good luck for tonight we’re rooting for you. We’re so incredibly proud of you and we’ve got the whole family behind you, so go get it.”
Backstage, after it was announced that Joey had missed out on being crowned winner to Olympian Nile Wilson, he shared a post of his nan dancing with former contestant Patsy Palmer, and teamed it with the song I’m Every Woman .
Dressed in a canary yellow suit, Linda cut an incredibly glamorous, not to mention, youthful look.
While Joey’s outstanding performances week after week have made him a talking point in most households around the UK, so too has his blossoming relationship with his skating partner Vanessa Bauer.
And even though Vanessa recently dismissed claims that they were dating, it looks as though things could change now that the show has come to an end.
Joey told The Sun: “Me and Vanessa have a great bond, we’ve always gotten on well with each other since day one.”
He added: “It’s very special and I think it would be quite nice to see what’s going on in the outside because we’re just mainly in the the ice rink to be honest. We’re taking it day by day. We’ve got the final ahead of us all of our focus is definitely on the final.”