JB Gill already feels Strictly Come Dancing pressure from Craig Revel Horwood

JB, you won Christmas Strictly in 2012. Why the long gap before coming back for the main competition?

JB Gill: For me, if I'm going to do anything, I want to really commit to it. I always knew that if I was going to do the main show, I would have to be as free as possible to give it my best shot.

This year, I told my agent, "I'd love to do it, but I'm not sure it's going to work." But when they gave me the dates, literally every single date was free.

Do you feel you have good rapport?

Amy: Yeah, we definitely do. And we kept being put together, so I definitely had an inkling.

JB: My wife said, "I think they want you to be with Amy." I was very hopeful that I would get her. I've met Amy before and she's lovely. I knew I'd be in good hands.

Amy, you're back after a break last year to have treatment for breast cancer. How does it feel to be here?

Amy: It still feels surreal. I keep getting emotional. I keep having moments where I think, "This time last year…" I just felt so alone, and I couldn’t properly dance.

And I just sobbed, because I was watching all the couples, and I just wanted to be with them. I wish I could go back and tell myself, "You're going to be alright. You're going to be dancing again next year."

JB, how is your fitness?

JB: I've been on tour with the JLS boys and all our songs are very much high-energy. It's an hour and a half of pure cardio, so I actually feel like I'm in very good shape coming into the competition. I have no doubt that Amy is going to be putting me through my paces. She's laughing!

Amy, with JB doing so much dancing with his band, have you got a bit of an advantage going into this year's competition?

Amy: Yeah, although it's very different dancing. When has JB held his arms up in a ballroom frame for a minute-and-a-half like this? It's very, very different. He's not waltzed or tangoed before. I think for JB there's going to be an expectation there as well, which I always feel like is harder.

JB: Craig's already said it. When I made my announcement about coming on, Craig said: "I'm looking to see your technique." So I already know there's going to be a standard!

I'm going to ask you to call it, Amy. How far are you going to get?

Amy: You've got to aim high, but we're not going to put pressure on ourselves. We're going to enjoy every single week.

Our only competition is us. And especially after missing out on last year. I just want to be part of it for as long as I possibly can to make up for lost time.

JB, what week are you most looking forward to?

JB: Movie Week for me. Yeah, being able to bring something to life based on people's understanding and experience of it on the screen. It'd be amazing.

Amy, you've spoken out about the trolling you received during your cancer treatment, and everyone on this show becomes the subject of huge scrutiny, whether it be praise or insults. What tools do you have to navigate that?

Amy: Last year I was missing out on it, I'd had my whole life stripped away from me, so the slightest comment would tip me over the edge. Now I'm back in my happy place, and my heart is so happy right now. I don’t think I’m going to let anybody take away this experience from me.

JB: It's a big show. There's going to be praise and negativity and whatever from judges and comments flying about. For me, I just want to focus on the partnership. As long as Amy's cool, I'll be cool. I think if you have a good network around you, my family coming to support us and stuff. I think that goes a really, really long way.

However far you get, what would you like to get out of this experience?

Amy: For me, it's JB falling in love with dance, and creating routines together that will be remembered forever, and that him and his family are always going to watch back.

JB: For me, it's developing and learning a new skill and having fun. It's an intense period, of course. I've got younger kids. It’s going to be a bit of a change for them, so I want to make sure that I make the most of it, and I can do the family proud.

A condensed version of this interview appears in last week's issue of Radio Times.

Strictly Come Dancing continues at 6:15pm this Saturday on BBC One and iPlayer.

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