We speak to heart throb and Strictly Come Dancing bad boy Brendan Cole before he set out on his new tour of All Night Long.
How long does it take to put the show, All Night Long, together?
It’s not a small show – there are 22 of us on stage. It takes a year to put the show together, with new costumes and new lighting, but the format isn’t broken so we don’t change that. 
Do you put together the choreography for this production?
We have a new cast and choreography changes from the last time we did the tour. I am the last stop for deciding on the choreography but the dancers and IÂ create the numbers together with our different ideas. They are a big part of it.
You’re touring from January to April. How do you find being on the road for so long?
It is a hectic schedule, but I love being on the road. The band has been with us for six or seven years. Don’t tell the wife, but I have a ball. Each night is different and we hang out in the hotels. I am looking forward to the tour.
Have you been to Aberdeen before?
I have never been to HMT. Last time I was in Aberdeen we played at the Music Hall. My mother’s side of the family is Scottish and I like to have a look at the whisky shops in Aberdeen.
When did you first start learning to dance?
My mother made me do it. I was seven years old and rocked up with my brother and started from there. I had played loads of sport before that.
When Strictly first started, did you think it would ever become this successful?
Nobody did really. It has become part of family life. Every weekend we are let into the living rooms of families. It is an incredible phenomenon. I probably didn’t think it when I signed up, but it has become something special. 
It must have been tough for you last season when you were ill and had to back out of a live show?
When you love your job and you can’t be there, it is tough. I watched it from the sofa. Even when a couple is voted out, the pro’s come back for the group dances. There has only been once or twice before, including for my father’s funeral, that I haven’t been part of a live show.
Will you be back in 2017 on Strictly?
I’ll wait and see what the producers say, but it is my plan.
What is your pre-show ritual?
I eat at 3pm or 4pm, but I like to have food and wine while being on the road. I get the feeling of anticipation and excitement and pace a little, it is like a ritual excitement. Once you’re finished and there is the curtain you feel success and elation, tears, relief and excitement. 
Why should people come and see you on the All Night Long tour?
Because it is the best show in town. We have put everything into this show – ballroom and Latin. The live music is second to none. It is full on entertainment.
Brendan Cole is in Aberdeen with All Night Long on February 21. The show tour around the UK, visiting Edinburgh on March 26. For the full list of dates see http://brendancole.com/all-night-long/Â
