EXCLUSIVE Louie Spence: 'My mum had three kids by age 19 and was a cleaner on our council estate. She didn't care about my global stardom alongside Tina Turner and The Spice Girls'

Daily Mail​

5 days ago

Louie Spence has revealed how his council estate childhood with his mum Pat kept his feet firmly on the ground when he shot to superstardom.
The famed Pineapple Dance Studio legend, 56, who grew up on a Braintree council estate, told MailOnline that his stoic mother Pat didn't really care about his global stardom working alongside the likes of Tina Turner and The Spice Girls.
Over the years, Louie also worked with a string of showbiz legends such as Whitney Houston and Stevie Wonder as a dancer and became a household name with Pineapple Dance Studios' TV show as a choreographer.
He revealed that his mum, who passed away in 2013, only cared if he and his two sisters were happy, and he confessed that 'money doesn't make your problems go away'.
Louie explained that he felt he was more sensible with his influx of money due to being older and having already 'dealt with having no finances'.
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He told MailOnline: 'My mom, as a kid, did tap dancing and ballroom and Latin, but she was pregnant at 17, had three babies by the time she was 19, so that went out the window.
'I mean, my mum could dance, my dad had a good sense of humour, like I say, they were going in like rabbits, I mean they actually would work to supply money to support the kids.
'She was a cleaner, she worked in the factory in between having a few nervous breakdowns.'
Louie's success has seen him build a 'privileged' life for which he is grateful for as he now enjoys a life of gym, lunches and cooking.
He spends his days alongside his husband of 25 years, Leto Fernandez, and they live their life to the fullest between Spain and London.
Louie has previously revealed that his mum worked incredibly hard to make ends meet and keep his passion alive.
He said that she used to buy the children occasionwear but keep the tags on, hang them up by the window and take them back to the shop.
And during the same time, Louie's mum remortgaged the house they bought under the right to buy scheme to send Louie to Italia Conti stage school.
Louie explained that he felt he was more sensible with his influx of money due to being older and having already 'dealt with having no finances'
And despite gracing stages with some of the world's biggest stars, his mum was never too 'bothered' and his family 'weren't impressed'.
He said: 'To tell you the truth, they were proud, but they weren't really bothered, and I weren't really bothered whether they were bothered either.
'It was like, what I'd always done and it was just my job. My family weren't really impressed by things like that, they didn't really care.
'As long as we're all happy, that's all that really mattered.'
And while Louie catapulted to fame almost overnight, he explained that his boost in finances wasn't much of a priority as he knew he was 'earning good money' but didn't have a chance to spend it because of his busy workload.
He said: 'I was working so much, I didn't really have a chance to even look at my finances.
'I knew I was earning good money. I would say, I was fortunately older when it happened to me. Pineapple started when I was 41, so, you know, I was already older and had dealt with having no finances.
'So I think I was a bit more sensible at that age, but I would say that it doesn't solve all of your problems.
'Because when you don't have money, you think that everything is going to be solved by having money, being able to pay your bills, it's gonna make you happy.
'But then you realise that it's not the money, there's other things deeper than that are going on, and no matter if you have money or not, they don't go away.'
Before Pineapple Dance Studio's observational documentary, which helped Louie soar to fame, he led a very successful dancing career as he emerged on the West End scene as a teenager.
He grew up in Braintree, Essex, and went to the local Doreen Cliff's dance school with his sisters on a Saturday morning.
Louie landed a part in the West End in Bugsy Malone, aged 13, and then the BBC's Wayne Sleep's Hot Shoe Show.
After leaving school with no GCSEs, he became a professional dancer with roles in Miss Saigon and Cats and spent a year as a backing dancer with the Spice Girls on their world tour.
Now, Louie has partnered with Nationwide as the banking branch will have four million of their customers dancing with joy after their bank gives them an extra £100 in their account.
New research from Nationwide has revealed that nearly two-thirds of Brits don't feel like life throws enough unexpected good news at them.
But this week, many will receive news that will have them dancing and jumping for joy, as Nationwide gives over four million of its members £100 as part of its annual Fairer Share Day.
Over half of Brits say they've experienced an involuntary physical reaction when receiving good news - and it's not as unusual as you might think.
In a joyful display of celebratory dance, Louie showcased his moves in a new video alongside Peter Crouch to honour Nationwide's Fairer Share Day, which sees millions of its most engaged members rewarded
In a joyful display of celebratory dance, Louie showcased his moves in a new video alongside Peter Crouch to honour Nationwide's Fairer Share Day, which sees millions of its most engaged members rewarded.
Louie said: 'Whether it's a pirouette or the cha cha cha, dancing makes me feel alive - and there's nothing like great news to make me want to move!
'But I'm not the only one, with millions set to receive their Fairer Share bonus, we're calling on the UK's lucky huns to embrace their good news with a little shimmy, shake, or twirl to celebrate. Lean into it, darlings!'