‘I’m being put into positions I never thought possible’

In her exclusive weekly diary, the presenter talks about the hidden message in her Couple’s Choice

We returned to regular ballroom business last week after the revelry of Blackpool. And boy, was it a leveller. Talk about a rollercoaster ride − from three 10s for our Quickstep to a five from judge Craig Revel Horwood for our Samba, which duly saw us scouring the bottom of the scoreboard. At least we were true to the statistics as, apparently, more than a quarter of celebrities who take on that routine find themselves in the bottom two.

The Samba was always going to be a hard dance as it has a notoriously tricky technique and syncopated rhythm. But it was a good opportunity to give it some welly on the dancefloor and I was able to camp it up with our holiday-hotel theme. Everyone’s been telling me it was a bit White Lotus, which I must find the time to watch.

Craig said he thought that the hotel trolley had more body action than me. Oosh! I haven’t had a score of five since week two, but I guess it would be boring if we got great scores every week. I appreciate that I’m not the best dancer on this show, but I do feel that I’m here to show people it’s good to have a go at stuff and challenge yourself. And I mean, let’s face it, I could never have done that sort of dance way back in week one. To quote Craig himself, it’s “always better to try and fail, than not try at all” and I did spy Shirley Ballas and Anton Du Beke chuckling away after our dance, so we did manage to entertain, which is the name of the game. We are so grateful for the support and knowing some people are getting enjoyment from our routines is making it all worthwhile.

It’s getting very quiet up on Claudia Winkleman’s balcony, where we all go for a post-dance debrief. I’ll feel the loss of my pal Ellie Taylor, who was eliminated last week. Ellie brought so much to the show, she was my fellow mum friend and I loved watching her routines – she’ll be missed on and off the floor. We also shared a dressing room, so it’s going to be very surreal in there on my own from now on.

At the start of the series we were all given these grey dressing gowns with our names embroidered on the back. I didn’t wear mine much at first, but now I’m in it all the time as it keeps you warm when off-camera. Then you can have a bit of a Rocky moment when you take it off before you go on stage.

Talking about sporting prowess, football fever has taken grip this week with the World Cup. Strictly has been moved in the TV schedules to accommodate the games, so we perform the live show tonight, instead of Saturday this week.

I’m from a big footballing family – my brother is a former professional player and now a coach for Carlisle United – and I used to cover local football for Radio Cumbria. When my dad cried with joy at Blackpool, yes, it was for me, but it was also for the fact that Carlisle had won 4-1 that day.

My dance partner Gorka Márquez wore his Spanish football kit to training the other day and we’ve had their games on in the background while rehearsing. Hey, what do they say? If you can’t beat them…

Unbelievably, we’re now at the quarter-final stage and it’s Musicals Week, which is a bit like Movie Week with jazz hands. We will be dancing our Couple’s Choice in a theatre/jazz style to Mein Herr from Cabaret. I’ll be going full-on Sally Bowles with a hat, a chair and some backing dancers.

This is total escapism for me and

I am being put into positions I never thought possible. There’s definitely been moments this week when I’ve wondered what’s happening. In training, you try out some extreme stuff and then pare it back to what you know you can do for the live show. Early this week, I had my stilettoed leg on a man’s shoulder and my other leg in someone’s bum cheek. One of the dancers said to me, “Just try not to get your heel stuck in his corset,” which is a sentence I never thought I’d hear.

That said, it’s a brilliant routine from one of the all-time great musicals with Liza Minnelli. I’ve come to realise that I do prefer to play a character when I’m performing. Sally Bowles is flashy, eccentric and vivacious, quite the opposite of myself, though I suppose everyone shows confidence in their own way. Mein Herr is an ingenious song for me to do. As the famous number goes, “I do what I can. Inch by inch. Step by step. Mile by mile…”

Strictly Come Dancing continues on BBC One tonight at 8pm and Saturday at 5.40pm