Strictly Come Dancing Anita Dobson: 'Strictly's all I wanted and more!'

Anita Dobson tells TV Times magazine about why Strictly Come Dancing is making her dreams come true…

Anita, you’ve clearly been having the time of your life on the Strictly dance floor!
“Strictly is all that I wanted and much more. I was very nervous about doing it, but it’s the biggest treat you can imagine and the clothes are so beautiful, you think you’ve died and gone to heaven! I’ve always loved dancing, but I didn’t have any training at drama school. I did about six years of musicals where I wafted about while people did the real thing behind me and I always wondered what would have happened if I had gone to dance classes.”

Had you been asked to be on the show before?
“Yes. But I said no because I was too scared of being judged and making a fool of myself and then I suddenly got to this age and thought, 'I’ve got a fantastic career and a great home life – what’s to be scared of?' Suddenly I felt strong enough to deal with it and it’s been the most liberating experience ever.”

Your performances have been brilliant, but we’re guessing they require a lot of training during the week!
“I’m no stranger to hard work, but there are moments where you think I’m never going to manage this. I always want to be in control and in this situation I can’t be – I have to give control to Robin, so it’s a bit scary. And now I have to really work on my technique. It’s all very well being able to perform and enjoy it, but I need to get better at actually executing the steps.”

How is it being partnered with Strictly professional Robin Windsor?
“He’s such a nice bloke. We have the same saucy sense of humour and he’s a terrific dancer. He’s also strong so I know if something did go wrong and I fell, he’d scoop me up – he would never leave me. He gives me such support that I’m becoming a bit fearless. The odd seconds I have where I actually get it right and feel like I really am dancing with him are so blissful.”

And what does your husband, Queen guitarist Brian May, make of your newfound ballroom obsession?
“Brian’s a very kind, gentle, supportive man and he knows how much this means to me so he’s giving me 100 per cent, but I think he’s quite shocked at the way it’s taken me over. I don’t talk about anything else but Strictly – I eat, sleep, drink it. It’s become my life. He said he’s never seen me like this and it’s true, I don’t think anything else has ever brought me such joy. It’s a complete revelation.”