TV
What’s Dance X all about and how is it different to Strictly Come Dancing?
"It's so different. First of all, with Dance X the dancing itself is different, we're using every style of dance, contemporary dance, pop dance, hip-hop, classical dance. We're using every style of dance and that's different, completely different to Strictly Come Dancing because on that it's all ballroom and we're not doing any ballroom. It's also different in that our dancers sing and they're also a mix of professional and non-professional. They're in two teams and it's about forming a group or two groups."
Is it quite nice to depart from ballroom and get involved with all of the different styles?
"Yes, I love it because as a choreographer I'm not just choreographing, and the stuff that I am choreographing, musical theatre and show dance, every kind of dance. Very often I only choreograph some ballroom and it's the other side of the dance that I'm much more involved in as a choreographer. So of course it's exciting to show off that dance."
And obviously you're competing against Bruno Tonioli. What's that like after working alongside him as a co-judge on Strictly?
"I'm not very good at competing on any level. I don't like competing because if I'm not going to win I won't be happy, so it's going to be very difficult for me. You know I can generally play banker when I play Monopoly because I don't want to lose. So I'll be like 'I'll be the banker'. So it's probably going to be very difficult for me to compete."
Do you think it will be even more difficult because you know Bruno and you've worked alongside him for a number of years?
"I don't think it will be more difficult because it's Bruno, I think it's going to be difficult for me anyway, but yes, I imagine there could be some tension."
So what are you looking for in the contestants, what kind of person would you like to see competing on the show?
"Well we've been all around the country searching for people, amateurs, semi-amateurs, professionals who can sing and dance and who look good. Having gone all around the country I have to say the pickings were actually in the end quite slim as to who we finally have chosen to be on the programme. It's surprising you know how few people there are out there that can really do what you want. So I'm excited about the people we have, but I would have liked to have had a few more auditions if that had been possible."
You formed successful seventies dancing and singing group Hot Gossip. Are you trying to find a new updated version?
"It's been so long since I did Hot Gossip it would be hard to find it and update it. Also the difficulty is in a way Hot Gossip was so ahead of its time that we were allowed to do things in Hot Gossip that we wouldn't be allowed to do today. So even if we tried to update it we'd probably down date it because we went so far with Hot Gossip, and with the great politically correct Briton I'm not sure how far we could go to really update it. But I want it to be different, I want it to be something new."
Is it a way of making the dancers the stars, because often they're just in the background as backing dancers?
"I always call dancers the faceless ones, so the important thing and the real reason behind this group was to bring not only the dance but the dancers into recognition. We know so few of the names of any of the dancers here and the ones we do know are generally classical ballet dancers and I want to make our commercial dancers, our popular dancers known by name. Not just the ones in Dance X, but for all of them."
We've obviously seen you a lot on Strictly. How is it different working with unknowns as opposed to with celebrities?
"The thing is on Strictly Come Dancing all I do is criticise or admire as the case may be. In my professional working life I work with both celebrities and professional dancers so I'm quite used to working with both elements. You know I'm used to working with stars to make them look good and teach them to dance and those that don't to move, and I'm also used to working with dancers and trying to get the best out of them. But it's very different from Strictly, I'm not just sitting behind a desk criticising and I'm thoroughly involved with Dance X."
And do you enjoy that more because you get to be more hands on?
"Do I enjoy it more? That's a hard one to say. It seems to be taking my life over at the moment so it's actually something new, it's surprising. Before I would work on a show, like say I, was doing The Sound Of Music all during the week, then Saturdays I would just go off and do Strictly and it was Saturday afternoon, Saturday evening. This Dance X is 24 hours, seven days a week so I'm just so in it at the moment and just not sure if I'm enjoying it or not."
Both you and Bruno formulated the idea, does that mean you get more input compared to on Strictly?
"This is our idea, Bruno and I started this three years ago putting this together jointly, working out what we could do and we were very lucky that the BBC picked it up, very lucky indeed. But yes, I'm very, very much more involved in every step of the way, whereas with Strictly, no it isn't my show at all. I'm just one very, very small element of Strictly, but Bruno and I are much larger elements of this show."
Ben Shepherd, who is presenting Dance X, has said both you and Bruno have been really tough, would you agree you've been tough with the contestants?"
Yes, and I would also agree that we're not too happy with the slim pickings."
You have said you're not as tough as you used to be, what on earth were you like before?
"Sometimes I was so out of control if people didn't do things that I wanted. I think I stayed very much in control, although I'm equally as demanding, but before I would just lose it. You know, I would just have a temper just waiting at the end of my tongue. Now I am much more in control of that."
Dance X is going to be on BBC One primetime. Do you think there is still demand for these kinds of talent programmes?
"One can only hope, I can only hope that there is, I really do. I believe in the show passionately and I hope that the audience does and the figures show that, but there's no telling is there? There's no telling what the public love and what they don't."
It's just been announced that there's going to be a fifth series of Strictly Come Dancing this autumn, are you happy you can go and do that again?
"Yes, very."
Have you got any dream celebrity contestants that you'd like to see on the show?
"David Tennant number one. I'd love to see Jordan because I think she'd be hysterical, David Tennant for, well I just think he'd be fabulous. I'd like to see Jonathan Ross, I'd like to see how he'd get around a dance floor."
Is there anything else you would like to do? You already have an OBE, you've worked on musicals and TV shows. Is there anything else left you would like to work on?
"Well I would like to brand Arlene and get Britain up and dancing and then I'd be happy."
Dance X starts on Saturday July 14 on BBC One at 6.55pm
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