People

Penny Lancaster-Stewart and Ian Waite

Reading's champion dancer Ian Waite runs a dance school in Southampton Street but of course is better known as a secure fixture on the hit BBC series Strictly Come Dancing.

He left the competition in only the second week in 2006 with singer Mica Paris, but this year he hopes to go all the way with Penny Lancaster-Stewart, the leggy wife of singer Rod Stewart.

Read and listen to the interview below with BBC Radio Berkshire's breakfast show presenter Andrew Peach:

Penny Lancaster was fab, you said she'd be and she was!

"You never know on the first show - I was quite relieved because you never know how it's going to go and even though Penny put her heel in her dress she still managed to get through the dance."

Really?

"Half way through in the dance she had her heel caught all the way through but we don't like to highlight things like that because we got good marks, so we're not complaining."

As we always say, it comes down to people's popularity as well as people's dancing ability...

"A lot of different elements come into it and it really depends whether the public like you.

"It's a long competition, we've got 12 weeks of having to be on top form, and things can change from week to week so we're going into next week with a clean slate really.

But with great confidence I should think.

"That's really nice and it's really encouraging but we've got a hard dance next week which is the jive but we've got a great track, which is good."

Can you reveal what the track is?

"It's top secret information, but wait for it, it's a fab tune."

Now next week all the dancers are up against each other, we've gone past the men and women business and it's all of you now.

"I was quite worried, last week it was just the seven girls and I looked at the line up and I couldn't tell who was going to go. Stephanie of course is such a great star and character and I didn't think she would go because of her popularity."

It's always someone in the middle isn't it, Kate Garraway was never going to go even though she was terrible - she's popular and people feel sorry for her because she's been injured.

"Absolutely, and going into the first week I really knew we had to be in the top three to give us a bit of relief, thinking that we might be okay, but you never know."

How is this Sunday night result show working out for you guys - there's no secret about the fact that it's recorded on the Saturday after the main show. Does that work better for you from your point of view?

"I think it's probably a better thing from a dancer's point of view. The thing is that the judges decide on the last two - obviously if you're in the last two there's a reason for that you've been voted last by the public and the audience, but at least then if you've got a good dancer who has an off night then we can keep them in.

"At the end of the day if it means the dancers stay in then surely it's got to be fairer."

You're a real contender to go all the way in this series!

"Well I don't like to think too soon, maybe at the beginning of December and we're still in then maybe I'll be saying different."

And I can't believe they found you a partner who's almost as tall as you!

"I'm going to need some high heels for Penny I think!"