‘Farewell old friend’: Strictly’s Bill Bailey announces the death of his beloved rescue dog Banjar in heartfelt post
Bill Bailey announced the death of his beloved rescue dog, Banjar, in a heartfelt post on Thursday.
The comedian, 55, shared a touching picture of his cherished pooch and told him to ‘sleep well’ as he shared the news with his 3.3 million Twitter followers.
He penned: ‘Today we said goodbye to our lovely rescue dog Banjar. Farewell old friend. Sleep well.’
‘Farewell old friend’: Strictly Come Dancing’s Bill Bailey has announced the death of his beloved rescue dog Banjar in a heartfelt Twitter post (picture)
The Strictly Come Dancing contestant received an outpouring of support from his 3.3 million followers who gave their condolences.
Among the outpouring of support, one fan penned: ‘I really hope you are as okay as you can be, it is horrible to lose one xx’; while another added: ‘What a lucky pupper to have lived their best life with you,’ and a third wrote: ‘So sorry for your loss :(‘.
Bill is a renowned animal lover, and just a few weeks ago, he spoke to The Sun about his new puppy, Tiger, and why dogs mean everything to him.
Dearly missed: The comedian, 55, shared a touching picture of his cherished pooch Banjar on Thursday and told him to ‘sleep well’
Man’s best friend: He wrote on Twitter: ‘Today we said goodbye to our lovely rescue dog Banjar. Farewell old friend. Sleep well’
He said: ‘I’ve never been out with my dog Tiger yet and not had a chat with some other dog owners.
‘The thing I love about dogs is you get so much back from them — if you put the hours in, they repay you threefold.
‘I know people who have been avowed non-dog people, then some scrawny mutt somehow wins them over. We can’t help ourselves because they’ve wormed their way into our affection for thousands of years.
‘There’s something about their steadfast adoration that gives us joy.’
Moral support: The Strictly contestant received an outpouring of support from his 3.3million followers who gave their condolences
Despite the tragic news, Bill will be back to work in the Strictly ballroom on Saturday night with his dance partner Oti Mabuse.
The professional funnyman admitted to having some dance training prior to his appearance on the hit BBC show, learning ‘the waltz, the foxtrot and the quickstep.’
Bill wrote in his Remarkable Guide to Happiness that he ‘had ballroom dancing lessons’ as a teenager and attended a ‘dance school across the road’ from where he lived.
He described his childhood dance teacher as ‘a tiny, petite woman with a huge passion for The Dance’.
Bill added: ‘It was a marvellous and quite surreal experience to whirl around a dance hall with this ball of terpsichorean energy.
‘Bless her and all those she must have enlightened to her world.’
Back to business: Despite the tragic news, Bill will be back to work in the Strictly ballroom on Saturday night with his dance partner Oti Mabuse