Friendly Fires were dull, and I wouldn't really sit down and listen to Hot Chip.

Freddie Mercury made a lot of sense to me even though I didn't understand the lyrics.

I like stuff like Joy Division and Verdi, and then some naff stuff.

I've learnt not to expect a lot from supermodels - we've had them on 'Strictly' before and they've been horrendous.

The colour of someone's skin doesn't explain anything.

Strictly' has evolved - there are such beautiful stories within each dance. We're not doing a ballroom and Latin competition, it's an entertainment show.

The problem is most people in the world can't take criticism.

I was bullied mercilessly through school for my weight problem.

I was short and fat as a child.

I was quite chubby, so when I started dancing professionally I had to work hard to stay slim.

I've battled food issues since my late teens.

I once called EastEnders' Patsy Palmer 'a scrubber in a Puffa jacket who cries all the time' on 'Strictly.' She said I wasn't actually a dancer. That wasn't my finest moment.

The X Factor' - I watch it because I'm always searching for talent to use in my musicals, so they do all the groundwork for me.

If I was to pretend my father didn't exist and I didn't have anything to remember him by, then it wouldn't be healthy.

It's important to me that people don't go spouting off about anything in your life.

I chose when I was 30 to change my life entirely and become a director and sit in the dark and that's what I love doing.

I did not expect to become a celebrity or be known by the public at all.

I like telling people the truth.

Sports men and women need hip replacements. It was all those years of classical ballet and forcing turn-outs. It can be quite detrimental to your body.

You are under great scrutiny when you are adopting, more so than natural parents. There are a lot of interviews, screenings etc.

I don't want a splashy magazine wedding with celebrities.

X Factor' creates a Christmas single that puts money in other people's pockets. Whereas 'Strictly''s not out to do that, at all. That's why I stand up for it - it isn't car-crash television.

How many dancers in their life get a job that will last 15 years? Not many.

When you take on an acting or dancing role, you have to trust your director, and in some ways there is freedom in relinquishing control.