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<\/p>\nFormer X Factor singer Jake Quickenden believes his late dad and brother visited him as butterflies to tell him they were proud of him.<\/p>\n
The reality TV favourite saw one of the insects land near him on the first night of his new Full Monty stage show. Jake, who lost his father Paul and teenage brother Oliver to bone cancer, says: \u201cI feel like I get signs from them all the time.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere was a butterfly in the theatre before my first show on The Full Monty and it just landed next to me. That\u2019s probably the tenth time it\u2019s happened.<\/p>\n
"I always link butterflies with my dad and my brother visiting to let me know they\u2019re there and they\u2019re proud of me.\u201d Jake, who starred in I\u2019m A Celeb and won Dancing On Ice, appeared on Celebrity Help! My House Is Haunted earlier this year.<\/p>\n
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He says: \u201cI still get the shivers sometimes or my hair standing up, and I feel like somebody is there but I just imagine that\u2019s my dad or my little brother now, checking in on me..\u201d The 35-year-old would love to become a telly ghost hunter himself.<\/p>\n
He says: \u201cI\u2019ve always been a huge believer in the paranormal so if anything ever came up, any ghost shows, I\u2019m in. \u201cFor me it comes down to going through loss at a young age \u2013 you want to believe there\u2019s something else, that those people you\u2019ve lost can visit you.\u201d<\/p>\n
But the star admits this time of year is tough. \u201cI celebrate my dad and brother,\u201d says Jake. \u201cBut I do find Christmas a bit hard. To lose a child now I\u2019m a dad, I could never get my head around how hard that must be.\u201d <\/p>\n
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Jake, who lives with wife Sophie, son Leo and stepson Freddie, also wants to explore the topic of grief further in the new year. He adds: \u201cI want to get into documentaries and do one about grief, how that can affect people and how you can help.\u201d<\/p>\n
Jake is currently on a break from The Full Monty, which resumes in Liverpool next month. He and others in the cast \u2013 including former Corrie actor Bill Ward and EastEnders star Danny Hatchard \u2013 go starkers on stage, just like in the 1997 film. But Jake is perfectly relaxed with getting his bits out in front of an audience. <\/p>\n
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In fact, as this is his first acting role, he\u2019s more concerned about his dramatic skills. He laughs: \u201cI\u2019m most at home when I\u2019ve got no clothes on!\u201cWe do get fully nude but I think the beauty of the show is you get a lot of women going to watch the strip but when they leave, it\u2019s probably the last thing they remember because the story is so relevant, even today.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt touches on mental health, body issues, homophobia so there\u2019s a lot of important messages in there.\u201cThen we get our kit off and people have a really good time.\u201c For me, it was more about not letting the team down and performing to the best of my ability. \u201cWe\u2019re so used to it now it would feel a bit weird if we didn\u2019t take our clothes off at the end.\u201d<\/p>\n
Jake has also been working with YouTube Shorts which is celebrating hobbies across online platforms and highlighting pet portraits as a popular choice in the UK this year. He hosted a masterclass alongside YouTube Shorts creator and artist Emily Rose, resulting in a picture of his own cat Purdey. Jake adds: \u201cIf you can learn something from watching videos then fair enough. In such a busy world, just have a bit of time to yourself, I think it\u2019s a great thing.\u201d<\/p>\n
To try out pet portrait painting and other hobbies, go to youtube.com\/shorts. <\/p>\n
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