Strictly Come Dancing Live: Ed Balls speaks ahead of Birmingham show

Judges Len Goodman and Craig Revel Horwood will watch on as 2016 winner Ore Oduba hits the floor with Ed Balls, fellow finalists Danny Mac and Louise Redknapp, the glamorous Lesley Joseph and cat walk queen Daisy Lowe.

They warmed up for the show with a week of rehearsals in Camden Town. And they invited their favourite newspapers to hang out and find out what puts the sparkle into Strictly.

Strictly Come Dancing The Live Tour will open in Birmingham before touring the UK with dates at the Barclaycard Arena from Friday, January 20 to Sunday, January 21.

Gordon told him not to bother going on Strictly.

Ex-Prime Minister Mr Brown told Ed Balls he'd be a mug to make a fool of himself on the dance floor.

"After a couple of weeks, he phoned me back to say he'd changed his mind," laughs Ed. "I think he was very impressed."

Ed, of course, went from being a man who the public didn't particularly like to a national treasure. He laughs – though probably not at the bit about 'being a man the public didn't like'.

"It's funny because when you're a politician you get a lot of people come over in the street or on the train or the bus. You never know whether they're going to tell you they voted for you or whether they're going to say you're the worst thing in the world.

"But the thing with Strictly is that it's such a warm, fabulous show. Everybody enjoys it. Whether you support Celtic or Rangers, Villa or West Brom, you can enjoy Strictly. It's a very unifying thing. It brings people together.

See Ed on Strictly here:

"It's not just the grandparents, the kids love it. If I'm in the street, I get kids coming up to me doing the Gangnam dance."

Balls enjoyed people seeing his softer side. As a renowned Westminster bruiser, he had lived in an edgy, hard world.

"People would say 'we always knew you were a politician but now we know you're a human being'. But that's a bit harsh because politicians are human as well."

Balls has always been something of an entertainer.

As a kid, he would do impersonations on the school playground of 70s stars like Jimmy Hill or characters from Not The Nine O'Clock News or the Two Ronnies.

"To know there's now kids on the playground doing an Ed is great. There's something very unexpected and very nice about making people smile." Ed was the people's choice. But, unlike Ann Widdicombe and John Sargeant, he could actually dance. Balls was able to bust a few moves and mix it with the young guns.

"My partner was very brilliant and she was also a winner. I always wanted to learn to dance. So we didn't want to compromise. It wasn't about me standing still and her doing the dancing. We wanted to have a go.

"There was a bit of pantomime and Craig was a bit harsh. He wanted to put me in that box but I thought that was a bit unfair." Ed was delighted when Len Goodman stuck up for him after a foxtrot and American smooth. He'd been criticised by Craig but Len told the show's Mr Nasty that Ed had done well.

"That was the best moment," Ed adds. "He listed five different steps that we'd done. Len seeing that was great."

Dance has been a running theme of Balls' life. His wife, fellow Labour politician Yvette Cooper, was a dancer when they were younger. "She did ballet and tap and so on. We've just had our 19th wedding anniversary and from the very beginning we've always done dancing at parties and conferences and things.

"I could do the jive, but it was mainly from the chest up. And now that I've been on Strictly, it turns out I wasn't dancing at all. I was doing something very different. Yvette and I have had a few lessons. I think I'll continue after the tour. I wouldn't mind doing a bit more ballroom and a bit of salsa."

Balls is looking forward to being on the road.

"The reality is that if you're Sir Paul McCartney or Bruce Springsteen, you probably get a bit complacent about playing packed arenas. But if you're me, you never do this. So to play to a packed audience in Birmingham is amazing.

"I don't really know what it will be like but I'm looking forward to it. On Strictly, the audience is a TV screen away. But this time, there's no barrier. The audience is right there."

Balls is looking forward to a week in Birmingham, with tech rehearsals and shows next weekend. "It's all set up about getting it right for Birmingham. Don't worry, we'll do well."

Ed isn't planning a return to his day job, as a politician, any time soon. "If I was seeing this as a way back to politics, I wouldn't have worn a yellow suit and a green mask or been a male Zoolander model. You never know what's in the future. But I'm supporting others rather than trying to do it myself.

"The biggest stress in my life now is whether or not I'll be able to do the pony jump when I do Gangnam in Birmingham."

By Andy Richardson