Tamzin Outhwaite has opened up about her upcoming stint in the world of Strictly Come Dancing after joining the line-up for the Christmas special.
The 54-year-old actress has been paired up with Nikita Kuzmin for the festive edition of the dance contest following his early exit from the flagship series alongside Sam Quek.
She'll be competing against the likes of drag artist Tayce, comedian Josh Widdecombe, podcaster Vogue Williams, Gladiator Harry Aikines-Aryeetey, and racing car driver Billy Monger.
Last year's festive winner Jamie Borthwick went on to compete in the main series this year but for Outhwaite, the Christmas special was the perfect opportunity to get a taster of the experience without the rigmarole of signing up for the full run.
"I've always wanted to do Strictly because I want to learn to Ballroom and Latin dance but I know that at my age, I don't think my body would be able to do the amount of weeks that is required," she told the BBC.
"So I said yes to the Christmas Special because it feels like a little snippet, a Strictly hors d'oeuvre. Like I could just dip in for a couple of weeks."
While Outhwaite will have had Kuzmin to lean on during her preparations for the Christmas special, it turns out there's someone else well-versed in the Strictly universe she could turn to as well.
That person happens to be Sarah Hadland who finished as runner-up in this year's finale behind Chris McCausland and his dance partner Dianne Buswell.
Touching upon their friendship, she said: "I haven’t told anyone yet but I leave Sarah the odd voice note saying, ‘well done, that was brilliant’ and ‘Oh my God, I don't know how you're doing it.’
"She's a great performer, she's doing amazing," she continued before she also paid tribute to Kuzmin.
BBC Strictly: Tess and Claudia will host the festive edition
BBC
When asked how excited she was to be working with the pro dancer, she said: "Very excited because we call him Prince Charming in the house.
"He just has the hair and face and the body and everything, he looks like Prince Charming."