Erin said: “It’s difficult! We get a lot of help and support from our dancers who have a more theatre background, but it takes a lot longer to put the pieces together for us. Thankfully they're very patient with us, as they know exactly where we're coming from. You still enjoy it though, even if I find the whole rehearsal process pretty challenging. I prefer the third week, funnily enough, rather than the first couple of weeks. And then after the opening week, I go “well, actually it wasn't that bad”. You learn where to breathe and it becomes second nature, so you can enjoy it. I feel I can relax into it, enjoy it a bit more.”
As always with Anton and Erin’s live shows, there’s also a Q&A section which always goes down a storm with the audiences. Sure the dancing is the main attraction, but the interaction with the crowd is just as important in its own way.
Erin said: “Yeah, of course it is. Three quarters of the show is dancing, with music and singing obviously. Then there’s a moment in the second half where we just tone it down and it’s always a funny moment. People laugh because it’s their own questions and they always want to know simple things like “what happens to the dresses after Strictly?” or what kind of underpants you wear, or what cheese you eat! There’s lots of those silly questions, but they cause a reaction. We used to get a lot of marriage proposals too!”
After years establishing themselves as the premier couple in competitive ballroom dancing, Anton and Erin became an essential part of Strictly Come Dancing from the very start. It was quite the jump from the competitive but relatively unknown world they were from to being in the nation’s living rooms every weekend, but even though they were wary at first, they’ve loved every moment the last 17 years has brought them and have no regrets whatsoever.
Erin said: “We had heard what would eventually become Strictly was in the pipeline, but it had always just been Come Dancing before that, which sort of worried us. That had been off the air for 15 years and was very dated. Ballroom dancing had moved on massively since then and we were worried they were going to take the mickey out of it.
“We were at the peak of our professional career and little did we know that the BBC had actually been to the closed British championships in Blackpool and filmed us all. So we had to decide if we wanted to be a part of it, but Anton said ' I’d rather be a part of it to know what's going on than not at all’.”
Anton explains: “We're all prone to not being involved in something and then complaining about it. I felt that it was better for us to be involved, even if we thought it was going to be a car crash, as we thought that we could potentially, with our experience, help steer it away from that happening. So we felt it would be better for us to be in.”
Even the format of the show was at an embryonic stage when the duo got the call, so they were pretty much the first pieces in the puzzle that would become the Saturday night television phenomenon we all know and love, but with such huge competition from the world of professional dancers, it’s all the more remarkable that both Anton and Erin made the cut.
LIVE24-SEVEN.COM
Erin said: “They didn't know what it was going to be called, or that Bruce Forsyth was going to be hosting at that time. They were just choosing eight dancers and made it clear they weren’t looking for couples.”
Anton is still astonished by how well they both did, saying: “Only eight professionals out of the whole industry. Eight professionals. And we - dancing as a couple - were two out of the eight. So you know, that’s pretty amazing.”
Strictly Come Dancing was a huge hit straight away and was immediately commissioned for a second series, so it wasn’t long before Anton and Erin started to see things change for themselves. In only a few weeks, they had become genuine public figures and were on their way to being the national treasures they are today.
Anton said: “I felt it right from Series One, certainly from the fans. There were such huge viewing figures by the end of that first run, that immediately there was a huge uptake in the interest of the show and as a by-product, you get well known, as it’s all part of it. It was lovely though and I enjoyed it from the off. I've loved it, in fact.”
Erin is in complete agreement and although she left the show after ten years to have her son, it still occupies a special place in her heart. She said: “It was a wonderful program to be a part of and obviously for Anton it still is. It becomes a part of you. There was a point in our career - and I think it was after the second show - where we had to make a decision of what to do? We either want to go this route and still compete, and do this or go, but neither of us have any doubt we made the right decision.”
You can see Showtime at Birmingham’s Symphony Hall on Saturday, January 29, with two performances at 2.30 and 7.30pm. Tickets are available from
www.bmusic.co.uk
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