Strictly’s Bobby Brazier hailed as the ‘King of the Ballroom’… but his gran Jackiey is noticeably missing from messages of support amid family feud

Bobby Brazier has been hailed as 'King of the Ballroom' after scoring a near-perfect 38 in the semi-final of Strictly Come Dancing on Saturday.

The EastEnders actor, 20, and his professional dance partner Dianne Buswell, 34, wowed the judges with their performance in the penultimate round of the show.

Bobby and Dianne performed a Quickstep to Mack The Knife by Bobby Darin and a Pasodoble to Run Boy Run by Woodkid – but his grandmother Jackiey Budden was noticeably missing from a compilation of video messages amid a bitter family feud.

Head judge Shirley Ballas declared Bobby 'King of the Ballroom'.

On X – formerly known as Twitter – fans were quick to share Shirley's sentiments as they praised the soap star.

One wrote: “#KingOfTheBallroom Wow!! Great dance feel proud of myself well deserved 10's from Shirley and Anton”

Another claimed Bobby's mother Jade Goody – who died in 2009 aged 27 after a battle with cancer – would watch over him.

They wrote, “OMG #bobby brazier your mom #Jade just wiped away a tear watching you dance. Take a bow, young man.”

For their second performance, Bobby and Dianne performed a Pasodoble and watched messages of support from the actors' families on their videotape.

While his uncle, other grandmother and father Jeff sang his praises, Jackiey was noticeably missing.

His dance was once again praised by the judges.

Shirley said: 'I can't cope, it was proud, it was big, you were in front of the lens and you kept the atmosphere going. You had beautiful shapes in it.'

Anton Du Beke said: 'It was beautiful, what I liked so much is that you stayed in their performance.'

Craig Revel Horwood complained the dance was 'a bit square' but reasoned that he could see how 'hard' he had worked throughout his time on the show and Motsi believes the soap star has 'peaked' at the right time .

In the end, the couple scored 35 for their second dance.

Bobby had to compete against Coronation Street actress Ellie Leach, West End performer Layton Williams and tennis star Annabel Croft to win a place in the final. The three finalists will be confirmed during Sunday's results show.

It comes a day after MailOnline revealed one of Bobby's biggest supporters, his grandmother, has been kept away from the Strictly audience due to a heartbreaking family rift.

Before his second performance, Bobby received a series of good luck messages from friends and family.

His father Jeff Brazier had said the “best Christmas present” would be to visit the son, but his grandmother was nowhere to be found.

Due to an argument with Bobby's father, Jeff Brazier, his maternal grandmother Jackiey was unable to secure a seat at any of this series' live shows.

It poignantly meant she had missed his emotional tribute to his late mother – and her only child – Jade Goody, two weeks ago.

Family friends say Jackiey and Jeff, who have cared for the boys since Jade's death in 2009, had a falling out a few years ago and have been unable to repair their relationship.

Just last week the 66-year-old described the TV presenter, who attended the shows at Elstree Studios in Hertfordshire with youngest son Freddy, as a 'c**k'.

But sources say Jackiey is desperate to make peace so she could possibly get a ticket to see her grandson in next week's Strictly final if he makes it through the semi-finals.

Participants are only given two seats for their friends and family, but more may be allocated under special circumstances.

A friend told the Mail: 'Jeff and Jackiey haven't got on for a long time and things have been difficult.

'It has meant that Jackiey hasn't been able to stand in the audience to watch Bobby, things are just too bad between her and his father. He and his brother Freddy are her only grandchildren and she adores them. There is nothing she would like more than to be there to see him live.

“Jeff has been a brilliant father to those boys and has tried to get through a lot of challenges. It's a very, very sad situation. There is nothing Jackiey would like more than to go to the final, but the chance of that is very small.'

In September, Jackiey was forced to pay for her own ticket to watch 20-year-old Bobby collect the Rising Star award at the National Television Awards.

Jeff has attributed the fallout to Jackiey buying the two boys inappropriate gifts, such as phones and even a hamster, which he had to confiscate or return.

In 2021, Bobby confirmed in an Instagram video that he had reconnected with his grandmother after losing contact.

He said: 'I haven't seen her for ages – far too long – but I went to see her twice recently. And honestly, if there's one woman you shouldn't underestimate, it's my grandmother. Honestly, she's like a magician! It's crazy.'

Meanwhile, Bobby told the Mail how he was inundated with letters after his tribute dance to his mother.

He said: 'There have been many letters. I haven't opened or read many, but I have seen many people have written.

'We contacted a lot of people and communicated and translated something, and that's what I wanted to do. I think that's what happens when you dance authentically and from the heart. I'm very happy that happened.'