Greg Wise Addresses The 'Strictly Curse' Question After Wife Emma Thompson's Saucy Comment

The Hollywood star made headlines last week she joked she’d packed her husband off to rehearsals with a condom.

After his wife Emma Thompson’s saucy comments about the Strictly Come Dancing ‘curse’, it was only a matter of time before Greg Wise was pressed about the matter. 

Sure enough, that moment came as he made an appearance on Steph’s Packed Lunch on Monday. 

Greg and Emma made headlines last week when the Cruella star joked she’d packed her husband off to rehearsals for the BBC ballroom show with a condom. 

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Greg Wise and Emma Thompson
David M. Benett via Getty Images

When asked about the so-called ‘Strictly Curse’ – which refers to how some of the celebrities and pro dancers often split from their real-life partners while appearing on the show and sometimes get together – Greg insisted he was “too old” and “too tired” for any extracurricular activity after training. 

“We’re 26 years in now, I think any of that kind of shenanigans… we’re told old, we haven’t got the energy,” he told host Steph McGovern

“I’ve just the energy to do a step-ball change, I can’t do anything else, really.”

However, that’s not quite true, as Greg has been busy making packed lunches for him and dance partner Karen Hauer.  

The professional dancer revealed: “He cooks food for me. He does all the packed lunches… We had scallops and tuna. Today we had chicken with amazing root vegetables.”

Greg added: “Tomorrow is halibut on a bed of lentils and spinach.”

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Greg and dance partner Karen Hauer on the first Strictly live show
BBC/Guy Levy

In an interview with The Sun, Emma had previously said: “I am worried about the Strictly curse, very much so.

“I have put a packet of Durex into Greg’s good luck card. Just two. But you don’t know, do you?”

The Hollywood star added: “They haven’t got time for a lot of shagging, I hope, they’ll be so exhausted.”

Emma was also in the audience as Greg and Karen performed for the first time together on Saturday’s live show.

The pair picked up 24 points out of 40 for their American Smooth to Frank Sinatra’s That’s Life, landing them in joint fourth position on the leaderboard. 

Strictly Come Dancing continues on Saturday at 6.45pm on BBC One. Steph’s Packed Lunch airs weekdays at 12.30pm on Channel 4.