East Anglia: Go to the movies with Strictly stars Katya and Pasha

Strictly Come Dancing stars Katya Virshilas and Pasha Kovalev are touring the region with their new show (Image: Archant)

“We have music questions about Strictly, previous partnerships, favourite costumes, dances, we’re always open for interesting questions... ‘someone asked would you marry me’, how do you get out of that one,” laughs Pasha.

“It’s come up on a couple of occasions. It’s funny because you hear that voice from the audience and you’re like okay, you didn’t have a first date and you already want to get married. Maybe we should take things a little bit slower.”

He’s never been tempted to go for a drink after at least?

“Oh, you never know,” he laughs.

It’s a waste of time proposing to Katya, who was looking forward to her honeymoon when I caught up with her at the UK Championships in Bournemouth where her husband was judging.

“I planned the wedding for like three years. Getting all the Strictly crew was very difficult, so I had to do it in advance, ‘save the date’.”

That’s a reception dancefloor show I’d have liked to have seen.

“Yeah, it was pretty fun. Anton and Brendan... it was good times.”

She’s excited about the current tour.

“This is our second time around so I feel like we’re more prepared. Last year we did 37 shows, this year we’re doing almost 70. It’s fantastic, I love our movie theme... one of my favourite weeks on Strictly is movie week.”

Not a surprise given her love of acting.

“I started dabbling in acting when I was 19... I did (TV shows) Smallville and Supernatural, a few films... that’s what I was doing before Strictly came knocking, that’s what I thought I was going to be doing now.

“Strictly just came out of nowhere and I wanted to take the opportunity to do something like that. I think it and and Dancing With the Stars brought dancing into the mainstream... it became cooler for the kids I guess and the general population is more aware of what we do, it opened a lot of doors.”

Katya’s not sure if she’ll be involved in this year’s show.

“It’s nice to be involved in dance projects but acting and film work is what I want to be concentrating on in the future, it’s more of a question of we’ll cross it when we get there.”

Back to the show, which she says has something for everybody.

“If you like a certain style of dance expect to see it. The music and costumes are going to be incredible, the audience is going to be involved... I feel like they will leave knowing us even better.”

Pasha, enjoying his first official day off, can’t wait either.

“We’ve all the dances you’re used to seeing on Strictly. The show is dedicated to performance in general and Hollywood in particular so we’ll refer to a lot of famous songs from movies and Broadway and West End shows.

“We get audience members on stage, make them learn moves in a quite short period of time and then compete among themselves while the rest of the audience figure out who they like the best like a mini Strictly experience right there in the theatre.

“If you like dance in any shape or form, this is the right place for you to be. We’re just trying to include everybody into the show. I’ve heard a lot of times that, for example, a couple would come up after the show and the husband would say ‘well my wife really wanted to go and I don’t really watch Strictly but I really enjoyed it’. People have discovered or rediscovered their love for dance.”

From the Ballroom to Hollywood, with special guest dancers Lindsey Muckle and Ryan Hammond, visits The Westcliffe Theatre, Clacton-on-sea, on April 26; The Towngate Theatre, Basildon, on April 29 and Potters’ Leisure Resort, Hopton-on-sea, on May 19.

Also interviewed online, Lisa Riley talks Strictly Confidential.