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A momentary mental debate, "well you are a musical theatre performer and all those years as a gymnast, you can do it!" So I said yes.

That's where I had, note the tense please, an advantage I thought. I could hear the beat in the music and could move reasonably well. At this point, it would be fair to say that I am not one of the smaller dancers, however, I'm told I move well for a biggun'

Lauren my dance partner from The Ipswich School of Dancing is a lovely patient, person, and with her real partner James looks so good and elegant.

I watch them and think "I wish she could look that good with me", but then they have been performing together for much longer than the month that I have been dancing (well moving around the floor with her).

Quite how she has kept her temper with me over the weeks is a miracle. I know I'd have been bubbling away quietly weeks ago.

For example she taught me some basic footwork for the jive which between Tuesday and Friday I had managed to forget completely!

That actually seems to be a recurring theme. But there was a eureka moment last week with the Cha Cha Cha, and I did the routine, with arms, from start to finish with no mistakes. There is a glimmer of hope.

Nigel Lungley

I am loving it, but decisions, decisions. Do I wear a white shirt or black and expose just how short my legs are with the starkness of white against black trousers?

If I clad myself in lycra I'll look like a badly stuffed settee but there is a silver lining, at least I won't have to worry about how to style my hair.

Never in a million years did I think I would work up a sweat ballroom dancing but shock horror I have to take a towel with me to practice sessions.

It reminds me of my time in a performance of Seven Brides for Seven Brothers where my partner used to say "don't drip on me" after a dance routine, those few words have scarred me for life.

The fragility of what we are doing was brought home to me the other day when a dancer fell on the floor, and boy did she fall. That reminded me was that we are only ever one step away from a disaster.

A huge thank you to the lovely Lauren and all at The Ipswich School of Dancing.