When it comes to presenting early morning breakfast television Bill Turnbull is the man to watch. However, since mid-October it isn't just the early mornings when you can catch Bill in full swing. The ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½'s third series of Strictly Come Dancing started on Saturday 15th October and Bill has already danced his way in to the heart of the avid audience. The show takes celebrities with no dancing back ground and attempts to make them ballroom dancers all in aid of Children in Need. It has already proved to be as popular as ever with audiences of over 9 million tuning to catch the spectacular ballroom action.
 | | Bill and dance partner Karen Hardy. |
Celebrities who have left the dance floor so far are actresses Siobhan Hayes from My Family and Jaye Jacobs from Holby City and TV presenters Gloria Hunniford and Fiona Phillips. Maybe this year a man will win the competition? BillÌý is dancing with Latin American dancer Karen Hardy and will also be starring in the ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½ newsreaders' rendition of Bohemian Rhapsody on the Children in Need TV programme on Friday 18th November. We caught up with Bill after Saturday night's performance to find out more about poorly feet, his love of eccentric hobbies and an absolute passion for Wycombe Wanderers. First things first, how is the ankle doing? Bill: Well it is both getting better and it is getting worse in some different ways. The welts are changing but I’ve got massive blistering and I burst a big blister this morning which was an accident. Are you bursting them marine style with a needle from behind the blister? Bill: No, I just did it by accident I bumped against something in Starbucks. Were you happy with your performance on Saturday? Bill: I was and I wasn't actually because in one sense it went very well, much better than I expected, from the judges remarks. On the other hand, I came out of a spin in the middle, in completely the wrong part of the dance floor, so we were galloping to catch up and the end just fell apart.ÌýIf you had known what the steps were suppose to be and the way they actually turned out you would have known it was a disaster, but actually it didn't look too bad so we were lucky! I understand that you have another busy week, with the group salsa and three days of rumba? Bill: Well I was going to but there is a bit of a difficulty because I can't put a shoe on my foot! I'm talking to you in bare feet at the moment and I'm going to have to walk through the salsa if I can do that.Ìý But I don't know what we are going to do about practice this week, we'll just have to wait and see how the situation develops from day to day. I just can't put on a dancing shoe at the moment. Is it as much fun as it looks? Bill: If anything it is more fun than it looks because we have a great time we all get on very well and it is very exciting.ÌýThe whole business has been fun, I've been very, very lucky with my partner Karen Hardy because not only is she an absolutely brilliant dancer but she is really terrific person and we've got on very well.ÌýIf it hadn't been for her I would have been knocked out of the competition much earlier and it would have been a lot more difficult, but she makes it fun and I'm very grateful to her for that. Your dance partner Karen is quite stunning, does your wife mind you spending so much time with her? | "Also my wife is aware, as I am, that Karen’s husband is a big bloke, he’s a rugby player from New Zealand called Conrad.Ìý" | | Bill reflects on his relationship with dance partner Karen. |
Bill: No not at all! They met on the first day and they get on very well and that is fine. Also my wife is aware, as I am, that Karen’s husband is a big bloke, he’s a rugby player from New Zealand called Conrad.Ìý We all get on together as one big happy family. I understand you have, to quote your wife "a lot more energy"? Bill: Hahahahaha…..moving on… This isn't the only Children in Need project you've become involved in, I understand your reforming Queen with your fellow news presenters? Bill: I'm also doing the news readers on Friday (18th November) for the third year running for me. We are deconstructing and ripping apart Bohemian Rhapsody and putting it together in our own special way. Which part of Queen will you be then? Bill: Well we all sort of interchange. Funnily enough in the opening scene I'm the Roger Taylor figure in the silhouettes but then after that in the second half I come out and play keyboards, so it is all a bit of a mixture. The only difficulty is that we couldn't wear wigs, which I wanted to do, because then people wouldn't have been able to tell who we are. I'm still hoping for them [the wigs] on the night, during the live section, because it will make it more fun.ÌýÌýÌý How important do you think it is to get involved with Children in Need?
 | | A young Bill Turnbull back in 1990. |
Bill: It is huge fun from our point of view, but I suppose what it does is that it lets people know that the people reading the news actually are human beings rather than automatons and that is something we are tending to do more and more. So long as it gets people to give money to Children in Need then it is very worthwhile. It is just a great laugh for us really, a huge amount of fun.ÌýTo be honest we [the news readers] don't actually get to see each other very often. It is very rare that we all get together in the same room so it is an important occasion for us in that sense as well. I saw your recent interview with Kevin Bacon and he was very complimentary about your dancing? Bill: Well he was just being polite really - he knows a lot about dance from having done Footloose - he is a very nice guy. His new film "The Truth Will Out" is very good and he acts fantastic in it, every second he is on screen you just sort of want to eat that scene up.ÌýBut also he is very grounded because he lives in New York. We get some actors in from LA sometimes who are bit "California-ised" if you like.Ìý But because he is a New Yorker he has got his feet on the ground and he is a very solid guy. He looked very surprised that you could dance so well, have you ever danced before? Bill: I'm genuinely surprised to be honest. I did a few ballroom lessons when I was about 10 years old, my parents sent me along, but really no more than half a dozen and I've forgotten everything I was taught.ÌýSince then I've thrashed around on the dance floor like we all do so it has been a whole new world for me. You have quite an eclectic mix of hobbies anyway? Bill: I've got the chickens, the dogs and I've got 12 hives of bees. Fortunately they nestled down for the winter so I don't have to worry too much [about them] because I would never have managed looking after the bees and doing the dancing at the same time because the bees take up a lot of time during the summer. I understand you are a member of the Pinner and Ruislip Bee Keeping Association?
 | | Bill's favourite player Sergio Torres. |
Bill: Yes and I can't describe how awful I felt when Arlene (Strictly Come Dancing Judge) described my Paso as being from Pinner because it was passionless.Ìý Because I can tell you there are some very passionate bee keepers in the Pinner area. But you are also a big fan of Wycombe Wanderers? Bill: Absolutely! The one draw back from doing Strictly Come Dancing is that I haven't seen them play since the programme started and I'm missing it hugely, particularly as you know they are the only unbeaten side in the League. Do you think there might be some correlation between your absence and their success?Ìý Bill: No because they were unbeaten before I stopped watching them and actually if anything they have gone slightly off the boil! What do you make of Nathan Tyson’s departure? Bill: Well Nathan is a great player and he has been fantastic for the club and I hope he does really well at Nottingham Forest as long as they don't get relegated and we have to play them again next season.ÌýBut the club has strength in depth. Tommy Mooney is a fantastic striker, Kevin Betsy has scored some great goals and links up with him very well.ÌýI'm waiting for Charlie Griffin to come on stream but also we're getting goals from all over the pitch at the moment and the two centre backs can score goals as well.Ìý Clint Easton has scored a couple out of nowhere and I'm waiting for Sergio Torres to score his first goal for the club because he is absolutely superb to watch, the best acquisition we have had this year so far. Thank you very much for your time and good luck with the dancing and the bees! Bill: Don't forget Vote 9, number 9… You can catch Bill in action in the ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½ newsreaders' rendition of Bohemian Rhapsody on the Children in Need TV programme on Friday 18th November and on Strictly Come Dancing on Saturdays. | 
