BOBBY BRAZIER’S new girlfriend Jazzy Phoenix has told how “he’s a lovely boy” after we exclusively revealed the pair were secretly dating.
But although the EastEnders actress has been thrust into the spotlight as Strictly hunk Bobby’s new squeeze, little is known about her.
In her first interview, the 23-year-old remains coy about Bobby, 20, who plays Albert Square’s Freddie Slater, but can’t help telling us he is a lovely boy.
The pair have been on several meet-ups in central London and kind-hearted Bobby gave her a beautiful bunch of flowers.
Jazzy returns for her second stint in Walford this month as mysterious sex worker Nadine Keller, Jay Brown’s new love interest in the BBC One soap.
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Jazzy revealed she has loved embracing the role of Nadine and hopes it will become a permanent gig.
She added: “I had the best time at EastEnders. Everybody was so kind, it was the most fabulous place to work.”
Her EastEnders colleague Patsy Kensit, 56, has become a friend and took the younger actress under her wing.
The pair shared an Instagram snap at The Delaunay restaurant in London last month and flirty Bobby commented: “Stop it. Too much for me”, along with a love heart emoji.
Jazzy said of her new friend: “I adore Patsy Kensit, she is so kind and so welcoming to me, the loveliest woman ever.
“She gave me a lot of advice about my career, which was to be true to myself, stay authentic and make sure I follow my dreams.”
Born in Salisbury, Wilts, Jazzy’s parents relocated to Mount Maunganui, Tauranga, in New Zealand when she was five.
It was there that she developed a love of performing, inspired by Cher and Christina Aguilera’s 2010 musical movie Burlesque, which follows an aspiring singer who leaves her small home town for Los Angeles to becomes a dancer.
Jazzy recalled: “I’d always loved the idea of being an actress, I loved to sing.
“Burlesque came out and I did singing lessons after that because I couldn’t stop singing the soundtrack. It was my favourite thing ever.
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"From there I learned about musical theatre and did a few musicals in New Zealand. From there I moved into more serious acting roles, including Shakespeare. Then I was lucky to transition into doing TV and screen work.”
Jazzy threw herself into her passion, learning everything from pole dancing to tap. She returned to the UK in 2020 with her parents.
She told The Sun on Sunday: “I grew up and went to school in New Zealand but have always been excited by London and the entertainment scene.
“When Covid happened in 2020, and everything started to go pear-shaped and my parents moved back to the UK, I decided to join them.
"I got here in August and did a lockdown, then I decided to move to London to further my career and have more opportunities. I wanted to be where it was all happening. It was exciting and I threw myself into it.”
Jazzy revealed she has big dreams of performing in the West End, adding: “I would love to do a musical. It feels like anything is possible here.”
Her dates with Bobby come after his whirlwind romance with Strictly winner Ellie Leach, 23, fizzled out last month.
Bobby and Ellie grew close on the BBC One dance programme last year, before confirming their relationship this year as they took part in the show tour.
They were photographed enjoying a late-night tryst after watching a musical and heading to an after-show party at Sophie’s steakhouse in nearby Soho.
In a Sun on Sunday exclusive, they were then seen heading into a flat carrying an overnight bag.
During the tour, Bobby gushed: “Ellie is a sweetheart, look at her . . . she’s beautiful, amazing, she’s good at what she does. She’s a good dancer.”
In an exclusive interview in today’s Fabulous magazine — free with your Sun on Sunday — Ellie recalls how she formed a “bond” with Bobby on the dance tour.
She told Fabulous: “We’d obviously built an amazing friendship during the show, but it was really nice to spend time with each other — and with everyone — on the tour.
"During the series you’re with your dance partner 24/7. And when you’re in the studio on Friday and Saturday there are time constraints, so you don’t really get to spend time with each other.
“On tour we were able to be together and learn about each other, which we hadn’t really had the chance to do.
“We were the youngest people in Strictly and both going through that same experience, one which nothing can prepare you for.
“And doing that at the same time as someone else gives you something to relate to and to bond over.”
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Ellie added: “We’re great friends. We got along really well and still do.
“We’ve had a great time on tour and we’ll always have Strictly in common to fall back on and reminisce over.”
Bobby is back filming EastEnders before exploring potential opportunities in Hollywood, while former Coronation Street actress Ellie is on a tour of provincial theatres in the Cluedo stage production.
Her Corrie character Faye Windass was axed from the famous cobbles last year.
Before winning the Glitterball, Ellie had ended her five-year relationship with Reagan Pettman after he kissed another girl in a nightclub.
Speaking exclusively to The Sun on Sunday, Reagan, 22, who met Ellie on an acting course at The Manchester College when they were 16, revealed he wanted Ellie back in his life but was happy if she had moved on with Bobby.
