WHEN asked how he would describe his fans in the West Midlands, Strictly star Brendan Cole called them "rowdy".

“But I like it,” he added. “With this style of performance, the audience is very much involved so it makes it so much more exciting when the audience is enthusiastic.”

The award-winning ballroom dancer will be debuting his new live tour ‘All Night Long’ to “rowdy” fans at Wolverhampton’s Grand Theatre on January 26 next year.

Halesowen News reporter Emily Collis caught up with the New Zealander in the weeks following his dramatic exit to BBC’s Strictly Come Dancing, when judges voted unanimously to save fashion model Daisy Lowe, forcing Brendan and singer Anastacia to leave the competition.

“I’m biased but I’m real,” said Brendan. “I know when I’ve been outshone. Anastacia and I weren’t particularly good throughout the series and I don’t think there are many people that would say we were.”

Since series 14 of the ballroom dance competition aired in September, rumours have circulated about the pair’s so-called rocky relationship.

Brendan said: “We’re both very strong characters and it is quite difficult having two strong heads – there can only be one driver after all and that can be tricky – but no, we were fine.”

When asked if the two plan to keep in touch after leaving the show, he said: “We’ll see each other in the final. It’s a funny thing with Strictly.

“I’ve gotten on with almost everyone I’ve danced with. Victoria Pendleton only lives around the corner from me so we see each other, not all the time, but often. We’re good friends. With Strictly, you’re thrown together with someone and everyone just hopes it’s a great relationship, and I have had that with most of my dance partners.”

He is now rooting for two couples to make it to the contest’s finale – “the best and the worst”.

Brendan said: “Danny Mac and Oti Mabuse have done some great stuff this series and shown some real quality dancing. The Argentine Tango they did last weekend was brilliant – it’s so complex and difficult – I wouldn’t like to learn that in a short amount of time. And then on the other end of the scale there’s Ed Balls, who’s done some really cool stuff for the show. It’s not just about being a great dancer, it’s about entertainment, so Ed’s been great for Strictly.”

One of only two professionals to have competed in the entire Strictly Come Dancing series, Brendan danced the first dance on the first show and finished first in the series.

But, when asked about his future with the BBC show, Brendan seemed uncertain.

“Change is inevitable,” he said. “So it’s hard to say what’s around the corner. As long as I’m happy and the BBC is happy to have me as well, then that’s fine, but you just don’t know what’s going to happen.”

And with the grand debut of his 9th live tour coming just around the corner in 2017, Brendan is feeling nervous about months of hard work coming to fruition.

“I always feel the nerves before the opening show,” he said. “When you’ve spent the best part of a year preparing and planning it, and it all comes down to that one night, you just want it to be amazing so it is nerve-wracking. The first show is always special.”

He added: “The shows have grown bigger and bigger and we’ve spent a lot of money on costumers for this tour to keep up with the size of the performance.”

On the topic of costumes, Brendan told the Halesowen News he welcomed the occasional wardrobe malfunction.

He said: “The more the merrier. They make it a more exciting evening. These shows are very real so nothing is disguised from the audience. So if a zip breaks, the audience gets a laugh, the dancers get a laugh and it’s funny.

“One time one of the boys last year was doing a costume chance backstage and he put the trousers on inside out and couldn’t figure out what had happened. But you only get a short time to change and the show must go on – so everyone got a good laugh out of it. I love that element of it.”

Aside from the occasional busted zip, fans can expect to see guest dancers, a 14-piece band, singers, superb choreography, stunning lighting and show-stopping special effects in the first of Brendan’s 42 tour dates across the UK.

To buy tickets or for more information on the ‘All Night Long’ tour, visit grandtheatre.co.uk/whats-on.