Can you believe that Strictly Come Dancing is back on our TV screens? It feels like only two minutes ago that we were backing Lisa Riley and Robin Windsor to win!
Well the show kicked off tonight in its glitzy style and we loved every minute of finding out who was paired with whom. As Strictly is back that means our weekly interviews with Robin Windsor are back too.
As a treat we caught up with him to talk about being partnered with Dragonās Denās Deborah Meaden, find out how he feels about the new series and talk about Lisa Rileyās psychic predictions.
Strictly Come Dancing is back for another year. How excited are you?
Iām back on Strictly now for my fourth series and Iām so excited for it all to begin. Weāve moved to a new location in Elstree and I have to say the studio is by far better than weāve ever had before. The dancefloor is bigger, the audience space is biggerā¦everything is just bigger, grander and better. As you will have seen from the launch show itās been the best weāve had yet. It was very glamorous and weāve got an amazing bunch of celebrities. Itās going to be an amazing series.
Tonight it was revealed that your partner is Deborah Meaden from Dragonās Den. How do you feel about that?
I have my very own Dragon! At first I was a little bit scared but I think I can turn this dragon into a lovely pussycat. Deborah is an absolutely wonderful woman. Sheās got where she is today because of hard work, determination and sheer enthusiasm for everything that she does. To have her as a partner is absolutely fantastic because thatās exactly what sheās going to bring to the dancefloor. Sheās probably going to give me a run for my money because sheās going to want to keep going until everything is perfect.
Deborah, like Lisa Riley last year, has been labelled one of the potential ājokeā contestants of the line-up this year. Do you know what her dancing ability is like yet?
As youāve all seen from the launch show and the big group number that we all do, everybody can move. Deborah knows how to move a little bit and itās a case of watch this space because until weāve had three weeks training with the proper dancing we donāt really know how anybody is going to do. I can see at least a decent run in the show.
Will training be kicking off on Monday for you and Deborah?
No. Deborahās actually on holiday, itās something sheās had booked for nearly a year so unfortunately we miss the first weekās training. As one would expect sheāll come back wanting to do 10 hours per day for the time sheās missed which is fantastic and Iām very lucky to have somebody who is prepared to throw themselves into it. Sheās cleared the rest of her diary especially for me.
This yearās celebrity line-up has had a real mixed reaction from fans of the show. What can people look forward to this year?
Iām actually thrilled with the celebrity line-up this year. I think whatās going to make this year special is that there are so many different characters and itās going to make it great entertaining TV for people to tune into every Saturday night. Of course thereās one or two people that you might not know but you need to be watching all the TV shows that are on all the time and not everybody can do that. Some people may not know some of the celebrities but all of them will be known to some viewers.
I must confess that Iād never seen Dragonās Den and I didnāt know who Deborah was. Last weekend I watched my first episode and Iām thoroughly hooked. For everyone that hasnāt seen Dragonās Den I suggest you tune in because itās amazing.
At least you know that Deborah is going to give you an honest critiqueā¦
Well thereāll be no messing around with Deborah. She says it as it is. Most importantly of all, Iāve got a really hard worker so thereās going to be a lot of hours spent in that training room.
Lisa has been back to present the red carpet footage for Strictly this year. How does she feel about you dancing with Deborah?
I called Lisa immediately after I found out who I was paired with. She was very excited. At the end of last series Lisa said to me, āI bet you will get somebody from Dragonās Den next year and it will be TV gold!ā and then of course Deborah was released as one of the celebrities. Lisa called me and said, āI told you, youāre going to get Deborah!ā
Sheās not too jealous that she canāt come back and dance with you again this year?
Lisaās been an absolute gem. Sheās already on the āTeam Robin to win Strictly Come Dancingā this year . Sheās going to do whatever she can to help me and Deborah lift that glitterball trophy. Sheās so supportive and sheās my best friend in the whole world. Iām very, very lucky that Iāve now been paired with four wonderful people. I seem to never pull the short straw and Iām a very lucky man.
Strictly Come Dancingās live shows are due to start with a bang on Friday 27th and Saturday 28th September 2013 on BBC One. Our next interview with Robin will be closer to the live shows as heās going to be super busy rehearsing with Deborah.