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Tom and Camilla perform their jive

Tom Chambers confirmed his position as one of the favourites to win this year's Strictly Come Dancing with a brilliant performance at the weekend.

The 31-year-old actor pulled off a difficult jive display and wowed the judges who awarded him the second highest total score, just one point behind rugby star Austin Healey.

Goodman: "Flying the flag!"

Bruno Tonioli called it a bright-eyed, bushy-tailed performance whilst Len Goodman said sparks were going to fly with him and Healey flying the flag for the boys.

Speaking to ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½ Radio Derby's Shane O'Connor on Monday morning, Tom said he was still on cloud nine and thanked his friends, family and fans back in Derbyshire for all their support.

He said: "Apparently everyone was sat in the pub in Parwich on Saturday night to watch me. I got 57 text messages before going on so that really spurred me on.

"I also heard my Auntie Wendy voted 70 times for me - she just sat by the phone hitting the redial button! By my calculations that would have cost her about £10.50 and I can't thank her enough."

Tom says the jive had been a difficult dance to master in the week leading up to the performance.

Tom Chambers

He explained: "I was nervous because of the speed you have to kick those legs around. I got a bit of criticism in the week that I was flat-footed - they kept calling me pancake feet!

"But I got good advice from my Uncle Roger from Chellaston. He was the swinger and jiver of the sixties and seventies and in fact still does a bit at every wedding he goes to!

"The hardest part is the face. You have to wear a constant smile when in fact you're concentrating so hard on getting the dance right that it's the last thing you feel like doing!

"I was enjoying myself but with it being a competition, it does feel a bit weird going out and wearing a big smiley face the whole time!"

Tom says he's now looking forward to tackling some slower dances which he feels could play more to his strengths and is excited about the growing rivalry with Austin Healey.

He explained: "Let's call it dressing room banter! It's all very healthy at the moment and we haven't come to real blows yet but we'll have to see if the flavour changes in the coming weeks!"

You can watch Tom Chambers compete on Strictly Come Dancing, Saturday evenings on ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½ One.