Because we had no money when I was growing up, when I started dancing, I wasn't allowed to be frivolous - my mum made me go to every lesson because she was paying for it.

As soon as I started dancing at 14, I knew I was always going to be a professional dancer.

When you dance together, there's a fabulous interaction. It's quite intimate. You're touching your partner, leading them. Learning how to behave in that person's proximity is a skill. I love it. I can't imagine tiring of it.

Strictly' is a bit like scoring the winning goal in the FA Cup Final or sinking the final putt in the Ryder Cup - only a few people get the opportunity to do it, and they have got to be famous.

You really become aware of your own life, what really matters, and it's not about the car you drive or what you have materially. It's family, healthy children, and it is to be cherished.

I would love to be able to see as much of the world as possible, and volunteering, doing things in another community, living with a host family, are really effective ways to learn about cultures different from your own. And also to not feel lazy.

My parents are very democratic and liberal people who made the mistake of being democratic and liberal in the upbringing of their children! And in my case, they are still paying for it! Paying in the literal sense as well.

I came from a working class family. We lived in a prefab. We had nothing, but we had everything. I was out of the house at 12 to live with my grandmother, who was on her own, and I was expected to be the man about the house. At 15, I was living in digs in London after signing for Tottenham.