Strictly tango had me more terrified than interviewing Margaret Thatcher

Veteran broadcaster Kaye Adams on her fear of performing live on television, pushing through the pain barrier and why she's barely touched a dance floor since the age of five after being cruelly dubbed 'kipper feet'

- By Sue Crawford

HE’S HOSTED live TV for decades, reported from the Lockerbie disaster and interviewed Margaret Thatcher when she was just 23, but Strictly Come Dancing star Kaye Adams says nothing matched the terror she felt when she stepped out for the first time last week to perform the tango.

“The fear I felt for this is in a league of its own,” she admits.

“It was a feeling of dread. The two nights before the first live show I couldn’t sleep. I was terrified. I have been scared before Margaret Thatcher was a huge one and then I presented Central Weekend, which was a big, live debate show, which I’d always wanted to do.

“TI was nervous I can remember pacing up and down beforehand but those things are in my line of work, whereas Strictly is completely outside my expertise. But I’ve never regretted it.

“It’s an incredible opportunity and it’s a great joy to be surrounded by really talented people who love what they do, but when you are in that moment on the dance floor it’s incredibly exposing.

“You're going to stand there and be judged on how you look, how you move and how you come across; it’s like a Roman circus.”

Despite her fears, Kaye and pro-partner Kai Widdrington danced a sultry tango that earned them 21 points on the leaderboard, including a surprise six from notoriously hard-to-please judge Craig Revel Horwood.

Before the show, Kaye, 59, was dreading Strictly’s sexier dances and being given the tango as her opening routine did not help.

“I was waiting on stage, standing in my dress with my fake drink thinking: Oh my God, this looks like Grab a Granny night!’”