Charlotte de Turckheim: “I don’t know if I would have pushed my mother to do ‘Dancing with the Stars’ at 70”

Among his many fears? That his partner “be disappointed” upon discovering that he will have to work with her. Let Charlotte de Turckheim’s future partner, Yann-Alrick Mortreuil, rest assured, their “Dancing with the Stars” adventure promises to be a joyful one. Because to overcome her growing stress, the 69-year-old actress uses her best weapon. Humor.

The press conference for this season 14 set the tone for a promotion where good humor should prevail as master of the game, the sixty-year-old responding with verve to all the barbs from her teasing neighbor, the footballer Adil Rami. A technique also to hide your stress before embarking on a challenge that worries those around you. But what does his doctor validate!

From 1 to 10, how high is your flip level?

Why flip? (laughs) It’s a 10 but my desire to go there is also a 10. No wait, my fear is at 9 but my desire to do it is at 10. I’m really scared but I want to do it even more than I’m afraid. I don’t want fear to win.

Mayane told us that she was never afraid and gave us her technique for calming down. Take a deep breath and tell yourself that it’s going to be okay.

So I tried, but it doesn’t work for me. I breathe, I breathe, but I’m afraid (laughs).

You declared at a press conference that your husband was not your number one supporter…

So poor guy, when I say that, let’s hear each other. He’s so scared for me that he basically doesn’t support me. But poor guy, it’s only love! Even my children are afraid for me. They tell me: “But you realize, at your age…” They did it very delicately but now that it’s gone, they are sending me very positive messages: “Yeah, go ahead! We believe in you!” But for weeks, it was more like: “Are you sure you want to do this? Don’t you think it’s a little dangerous?” They are terrified but I can understand. I don’t know if I would have pushed my mother to do this at 70.

But you are not the oldest of the Charlotte season. Nelson Monfort is 71 years old…

He told me he was the same age as me. Did he cheat? No but it’s because he’s much older than me (laughs). I told him it really felt like a family. Jungeli, the youngest, is 16 years old and could be my grandson. There are also children and grandparents. I was the oldest of all at the start. They must have said to themselves: “We need to find him a friend” (laughs).

Is this the first time you were approached for “Dancing with the Stars”?

Yes. The producer Frédéric Pedraza chased after me a bit, but I didn’t understand what he wanted. He wouldn’t tell me why. I was very busy, I was filming, I didn’t have time. I ended up telling him: “What do you want from me?” He told me he couldn’t tell me over the phone so that intrigued me. We met at a cafe and he told me he wanted me to do “Dancing with the Stars”. I answered him: “As a jury?” I had just had an MRI of my hip. I actually have a back problem, cruralgia, which can be treated by doing rehabilitation, physiotherapy, and moving. Against all expectations, my doctor told me that it was a very good idea for me to dance! It’s funny though.

Training takes between four and six hours a day. I feel like I’m going to die! Do you realize if I die on stage?

Charlotte of Turckheim

There was already quite a stir during the press conference. You won’t be bored with your friends…

Honestly, they all look really nice! It’s going to be happy. I can’t wait to see them dance because we all seem to dance like crazy, don’t we? Everyone said: “I’m rubbish, I’m rubbish.” Even Jungeli said his level was catastrophic. It’ll be fun to discover each other. I’m going to watch them like a little mouse during training.

We gave you a dress code for training exactly?

Ohlala, yes! You have to come with sports gear, as colorful as possible. I’m not going to wear candy pink on the first day either, we’ll leave that to the young people (laughs). You need comfortable things.

No dancing shoes yet?

Still, it’s a bit pretentious the girl who arrives on the first day with all the outfit (laughs). I’m going to go soft, with small sneakers. Dancing in heels bothers me a little but these are the pairs made for that.

“Dancing with the Stars” also encourages its candidates to give in. Is there anything we don’t know about you yet?

(She grimaces then giggles) No, I feel like my life is a bit of an open book, right? Very intimate things, I won’t tell them anyway. What will be interesting is surpassing oneself. I don’t know what my limits are. I have the feeling that they are a little weak at the moment. I’ll see how long I last. What intrigues me is my body’s ability to withstand all this. It scares me a little though.

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Is dancing part of your life?

I’ve always loved dancing in clubs but this isn’t the same. Training takes between four and six hours a day. I feel like I’m going to die! Do you realize if I die on stage? (laughs)

Your great repartee will be very useful to you in front of the judges…

Well no, why? When they give you a rating, you can’t dispute it. If I got a 2 or 3, I couldn’t say… What can I say? Nothing !

Take it with humor!

No, I don’t think it can be taken as humor. I think we’re pretending. We smile and say: “Oh great, I have 3!” But I think we’re laughing inside (laughs).

>> “Dancing with the Stars” – every Friday at 9:10 p.m. on TF1 from February 7, all videos from the show are available on TF1+