Gordon Ramsay’s daughter Tilly Ramsay once lit up the dance floor on Strictly Come Dancing, but now she’s absolutely horrified by the terrifying long-term aftermath that the show has left her with for years.
Gordon Ramsay’s daughter Tilly once dazzled millions with her glittering routines on Strictly Come Dancing, spinning across the ballroom floor with a smile as bright as the sequins on her dresses. But nearly five years on, the 24-year-old star is revealing a far less glamorous side of her Strictly journey, admitting she was left “horrified” by a long-lasting aftermath that followed her long after the applause faded.
Tilly, who competed in the 19th series of the BBC hit in 2021 alongside professional dancer Nikita Kuzmin, has now spoken candidly about the hidden toll of life on the Strictly live tour. While fans saw only the sparkle, spray tans, and standing ovations, behind the scenes Tilly and her family were quietly dealing with what she describes as “fragile and broken” hair caused by relentless heat styling.
Speaking to The Times alongside her mother, author and broadcaster Tana Ramsay, the pair lifted the lid on the unexpected consequences of the grueling schedule. Tana explained how the tour, which saw Tilly performing twice a day, every day, slowly took its toll. “It was the heat,” she said. “Her thick, blonde, curly hair slowly became fragile and broken. We were both slightly horrified, weren’t we?”
For Tilly, the damage wasn’t something that could be fixed overnight. She revealed it took “a couple of years” for her hair to finally return to normal, thanks to a careful routine of cutting, hydrating treatments, and a lot of patience. “It was just a waiting game,” she admitted, adding that the experience made her far more cautious about what she puts her hair through now.
Despite the less-than-glamorous revelation, Tilly’s career has continued to go from strength to strength. From charming viewers on MasterChef Junior to popping up on This Morning and Blue Peter, she has carved out a media career entirely her own, stepping confidently out of the towering shadow cast by her famously fiery TV chef father.
Yet Tilly hasn’t shied away from poking fun at the world around her, particularly the new generation of social media stars. Speaking about TikTok culture, she confessed she’s baffled by the trend of school-aged influencers posting lengthy beauty routines online. “I see these ‘Get ready with me for school’ videos where girls say they have an hour and haven’t started their make-up yet,” she laughed. “At school, I used to get told off for shiny lip balm.”
At home, life is just as busy, if not busier. The Ramsay household recently grew even bigger with the arrival of Gordon and Tana’s sixth child, Jesse James Ramsay, in November 2023. The proud dad announced the news on Instagram at the time, writing: “What an amazing birthday present please welcome Jesse James Ramsay, 7lbs 10oz whopper!! One more bundle of love to the Ramsay brigade!! 3 boys, 3 girls… Done.”
Alongside Tilly, the couple share Megan, 27, twins Holly and Jack, 25 and 26, and Oscar, six, making their home a lively hub of noise, laughter, and sibling banter. When asked by Ben Shephard on This Morning what it’s like growing up in such a big family, Tilly joked: “Oh, 17 and counting! There’s a lot of us!” before adding warmly, “Mum and dad just love being parents, and they’re great at it.”
Proud papa Gordon recently took to Instagram once again to celebrate another milestone in Tilly’s rising career: the launch of her Amazon Prime series Dish IT Out. “She’s all grown up and has her own show,” he wrote. “So proud of you @tillyramsay and your new @primevideo show #DishItOut… And thx for squeezing in the old man as a guest, kid… he still can show you a few tricks!”
While Tilly’s Strictly days may be behind her, the memories — both glittering and gritty — clearly remain. And as she continues to build her own brand, fans are seeing a new side of the Ramsay daughter: one who isn’t afraid to swap sequins for honesty, and who can laugh at the less glamorous truths behind life in the spotlight.
RHOBH’s Kyle Richards Shades Sutton as “Condescending” Over Comment to Amanda as Amanda Recalls Attitude and Sutton Speaks Out, Plus Erika Defends Sutton
Credit: Bravo
Kyle Richards labeled Sutton Stracke “condescending” due to the “missy” comment she made to Amanda Frances on Thursday’s episode of The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills.
After a tense dinner amid their group trip to Sedona, Amanda, 40, woke up to Sutton, 54, seemingly holding a grudge against her due to a comment she made in regard to her former assistant Avi Gabay potentially threatening to spill dirt. Looking back, Amanda reflected on the bad “vibes” between them.
“It wasn’t like, ‘Oh how dare she;’ it was like, ‘Whoa, whoa, whoa. Who is she thinking I am and what is she thinking I’m doing?’ Like, why are we ‘Hey missy’-ing in the kitchen … at like 8 am?” Amanda wondered on the January 15 episode of the RHOBH: After Show. “It had an attitude, and it felt like the vibes [were] going all wrong for us right then.”
“It feels condescending, absolutely,” Kyle agreed. “It’s definitely not an endearing term … She thought she had something up your sleeve, for sure.”
While Sutton and Amanda weren’t in a good place in Sedona, things have improved between them since then.
“I think she knows me now. I think she knows that I don’t come in with agendas,” Amanda noted.
“She knows now,” Kyle clarified. “But in that moment I think she thought, oh she knows more or is going to say more or was going to do something … She didn’t trust you.”
Months after the scene was shot, Amanda said Sutton’s reaction to her claim about Avi made “a little more sense.”
“At the time I’m just thinking, ‘Whoa, whoa.’ But I’m also thinking, ‘You told us you wanted to be Sutton Brown.’ And I’m so invested in personal development. It’s like my whole job. I’m so invested in the idea that people can grow and change. She tells us she wants to turn over a new leaf, and then she’s, ‘Hey missy’ing me, and I’m like, ’It’s not congruent,’” she explained.
As Sutton admitted she was being “sassy,” Jennifer Tilly, 67, said she’d previously used the term on Sutton, and Kathy Hilton, 66, said Sutton called her “missy” all the time. Meanwhile, Rachel Zoe, 54, said she’d be “really upset” if someone called her “missy” and Erika Jayne, 54, noted that there were “a hell of a lot worse things to call people than ‘missy.’”
“It’s kind of a love thing,” Kathy reasoned as Jennifer pointed out that “tone” had a lot to do with it.
“Everything depends on tone,” agreed Bozoma “Boz” Saint John, 48. “I think the way that Sutton said, yes, I would be offended, but also, Amanda called it to herself. So she kind of deserved it.”
“It is, it’s the tone,” Dorit Kemsley, 49, replied.
Erika also noted that Sutton was being threatened as she defended her “missy” comment.
“Think about what was being said to Sutton. I mean, you’re basically telling her that the man that worked for her, that was really close to her, was going to tell secrets and then you’re upset that she called you missy? That’s pretty out of balance. I don’t find that offensive,” she stated, adding, “What Amanda was saying was far more damaging than ‘missy.’”
The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills season 15 airs Thursdays at 8/7c on Bravo.