‘I’d like to shed my inhibitions’

She tragically lost her TV magician husband Paul Daniels to a brain tumour last year, and Debbie Mcgee has said she’s competing in this year’s show – which Paul appeared on in 2010 – simply to have “a really fun time.”

Former ballet dancer Debbie, 58, says: “I want to lose my inhibitions. If you know me, I let everything go. Generally, I’m very wellbehaved but I want to forget that and just go for it.”

And despite Debbie – who previously admitted she relies on walking, cycling and yoga to stay fit – being no stranger to sparkly costumes from her years as Paul’s “glamorous assistant,” she’s joked that being this year’s eldest contestant won’t slow her down.

Debbie says: “Next to some of the professional dancers, I look like their mother! But I watch them dance and wish I could move like that. “