Who is popular today?

I don’t recall saying yes to the show. Perhaps I just stopped saying no. But all of a sudden, a champion dancer was on her way to train me – and to my dismay there was no turning backMy invitation to appear on Strictly Come Dancing’s Christmas Special came very late. Being a cynical soul, I assumed someone had dropped out, but I’m warmly assured this wasn’t the case. I am nobody’s idea of a dancer. It’s not that I can’t dance; I can dance with great exuberance, but only if I am alone. If anyone else is in the room, I become overwhelmed with shame and embarrassment and just kind of seize up. I know the advice is to dance like no one is watching, but I can’t dance if anyone is watching.This wasn’t the actual Strictly Come Dancing, one of our biggest TV shows, in which contestants, paired up with pro dancers, are subjected to the judgment of four experts and, even more harrowingly, a public vote. The Christmas Special is a bit of fun, in which half a dozen, erm, celebrities – dread word – do one dance for the purposes of general seasonal entertainment. OK, it’s not as terrifying as the real thing, but it’s still all about dancing. And therefore, not for me. Anyway, for most of the scant two weeks’ preparation time available, I was away on holiday in an out-of-the-way village in south Wales. Can’t dance, won’t dance, away on holiday, no can do. Continue reading...