Greg Wise dedicates emotional Strictly performance to late sister Clare

‘People who’ve left us have never left us, they come back, they visit us, we can dance with them, and they leave again,’ said actor, ‘that’s what this was about’

Greg Wise dedicated his disco routine on Strictly Come Dancing on Saturday night (2 October) to his late sister, in an emotional tribute that moved many viewers.

The 55-year-old – who is best known for his role in the 1995 adaptation of Sense and Sensibility, which he starred in alongside his wife Emma Thompson – danced to “If You Could Read My Mind” by Ultra Naté, Amber and Jocelyn Enrique.

He dedicated the performance to his late sister Clare, a fan of disco music who died of cancer in 2016 aged 51.

After the dance, which he performed with professional partner Karen Hauer, Wise said: “People who’ve left us have never left us, they come back, they visit us, we can dance with them, and they leave again. That’s what this was about.”

Wise and Thompson’s daughter, Gaia Romilly Wise, appeared in a clip ahead of the dance and spoke movingly about watching her father become his sister’s carer in the months leading up to her death.

Wise appeared tearful at the end of the dance, and many fans were touched by his performance on Twitter.

Strictly Come Dancing continues on Saturday nights on BBC One. Read the full list of contestants here.