Strictly Confidential

Ok, so I guess my big secret is out, and I am delighted to finally be able to say that I will be appearing in this year’s Strictly Come Dancing.  The past few months have been absolutely crazy as I’ve had to keep this under wraps, and the lengths that I’ve had to go to, to keep it secret were unbelievable!  With any correspondence in regards to the show such as emails and meetings etc I was never allowed to mention the word ‘Strictly’, I always had to refer to my new job as ‘Legal’, which was also my code name for the show.  I even had decoy cars sent round to my house in case the press picked up on it.  I felt like I was working as a spy…..can you imagine ‘the name is Outen, Van Outen 007, I’m Legally Blonde and licensed to thrill!!!!!!’

 

Before my life was ‘strictlyfied’ and all the craziness took over, Betsy and I flew to Thailand and we managed to spend some relaxing time on the beach.  As Lee is in America it was a perfect opportunity for some Mummy and Betsy time.

 

 

Me & Betsy

My time with Betsy is precious and it was so lovely to spend some uninterrupted quality time with her as she is growing up so fast and is so much fun to be with.  She is already very girly and loves dressing up, and was thrilled when we sported matching outfits on the beach.  We stayed at the W Retreat in Mae Nam, which was absolutely beautiful, and our stay there was made all the better by the wonderful staff. It was amazing, and I would highly recommend it, especially for families. 

 

 

 

 With my best friend Tamara

 

The reason we were in Thailand was to attend the wedding of my good friends Jamie and Nok.  I’ve known Jamie for years and he now lives in Thailand, so it was lovely to get to see him get married on a sun kissed beach with a group of our closest friends.  Although I made the most of this relaxing time, I did have one crazy fun filled evening at the hen night.  My girlfriends and I went to see a really funny cabaret show, and it was hysterical!!!!  It was a fantastic evening and we had such a laugh!

 

The day after I arrived home from Thailand I took Betsy to see the launch of the new BBC Children’s Show ‘Get Well Soon’. It’s presented by paediatrician Dr. Ranj and its aim is to get children to look after their own bodies.  It’s suitable for both toddlers and older children and I thought it was a great idea to get kids and their parents watching together and understanding their bodies.  Both Betsy and I loved it, and cannot wait to watch it on TV together.

 

With Dr.Ranj at the

 Get Well Soon Launch

Oh my goodness!!!! Now we head straight into the launch show for Strictly and the craziness starts again.  Once again due to the to secrecy of the contestants we all had to wear Brucie masks when we arrived at the studio to conceal our identities, before the big ‘reveal’  I thought this was hilarious and tried mine on to show Betsy before my car arrived and it really freaked her out, bless her!!!

Strictly Confidential

 

 

As all of you who watched the show probably now know, I am partnered with the lovely James Jordan.  James has yet to win the coveted glitter ball trophy, and I know he is hungry for success, so I am so pleased to be dancing with him.  The only problem is….. we are going to be a nightmare together, as we both have very similar, very naughty personalities, and we have literally not stopped laughing since we’ve been paired together!!!

James and his gorgeous wife Ola live near to me in Kent, so it will be perfect for training together as we wont have far to travel.  Ola is partnered with Sid Owen, who also lives near to us, so I’m sure that the four of us will hang out for dinner together as we are all so excited and get on like a house on fire!!!!

 

 

 

Strictly has always been one of my favourite shows, as I love all the showbiz glitz, and I am so, so excited about appearing in this years show, but I have to say that I was a quite upset at the criticism that I’ve come under from the press about my involvement with the show due to my previous dance experience.  I would like to take this opportunity to express that I have danced at theatre school as part of my training, and I did appear in the musical Chicago where I had one dance number, but apart from that, my dance experience is very basic, and secondly, I am not the only competitor that has appeared in the show that has had basic training.  This competition is not musical theatre, it is ballroom, and this is a world that I am in NO way familiar with.  

Ballroom is totally different, firstly I have never danced with a partner, you have to be in sync, remember your footings etc, these are things that I’ve never had to do in my career so far and this is a massive challenge for me. However, I’m really looking forward to learning a new skill, and I’m really happy as Betsy is so looking forward to seeing her Mummy dance.  I know she’ll love the costumes and make up too, and the lovely ladies in the costume department have said that they will make her a mini costume to match mine…..I can’t wait to see her little face, she’ll be thrilled!!!!!  

The last seven days have been manic as I have been getting Betsy off to nursery, then juggling rehearsals with interviews and television recordings, as well as trying to do the housework!  And, I feel that I’m at a slight disadvantage this week as my feet are so badly blistered due to dancing in heels, that I can’t even get my shoes on and I’m  having to practice barefoot until they heal.  Even so, I wouldn’t change a thing as I’m loving every minute of it! 

However, there are a lot of people in this year’s competition with huge fan bases, so I really need all the support that I can get, so I’m reaching out to all the hard working mums out there to pick up the phone and vote for me when the live shows begin as I really need your help, and with James’ guidance, hopefully I can show that this Mum can strut her stuff every Saturday night!  

Feet, please don’t fail me now!