Flavia Cacace-Mistry

On show 2006-2012

ALL the dancers have had years of training and performing – and it gets them out of some scrapes.

Recalling a group number where half the dancers were due on part-way through, Flavia says: “We were keeping an eye on what was happening on stage via a monitor, but got so caught up admiring the dancing we forgot we were meant to be going on.

“We all realised at the exact moment we were needed and bolted towards the floor. There were these huge velvet curtains, we were desperately pulling them to find the openings.”

Flavia, 40, began dating Jimi Mistry after they were paired up in series eight and they later wed.

She says: “We were a shock exit, and felt we should have got further, so we still have a bit of a huff about that. But we share a smile when one of the songs from our dances come on. We don’t break into dance though – Jimi would kill me if I tried to do that.”

But Flavia admits her favourite partner on the show was Russell Grant. She says: “We had so much fun. The pressure was off and people enjoyed watching him no matter what he did. We had nicknames – I was Gypsy and he was Mama Rose, from the musical, and he called me his stage daughter.

“I’d arrive at rehearsal at 9am and he’d be there already, full of enthusiasm, and a feather boa draped around his neck, ready and happy for the day.”

Her last pairing was with gymnast Louis Smith in 2012. She says: “It was the Olympics year and there was a buzz to the country. To have that as my last year, and to win, was a wonderful high point.”

Before going on stage Flavia had a ritual. “We have suede on the bottom of our dance shoes for grip, and buff them with little metal brushes. I’d hide mine in a secret place in a backstage corridor and it had to be the last thing I did before I went on stage.”