‘I danced in front of eight million people and wore sequins’

3:50pm Wednesday 7th December 2005

Bill Turnbull talks to Jeremy Campbell about the end of his Strictly Come Dancing dream.

Bill Turnbull has mixed emotions about being voted off Strictly Come Dancing.

The BBC's Breakfast presenter from Jordans says: "I am sorry to be out of the competition, but also quite relieved because I was so tired. Also the moment I thought the votes might propel me towards the final I was terrified, and I think common sense prevailed in the end. I thought I might have a chance to stay in but Karen knew that day that we weren't going to make it. She just had a feeling that we would go out."

Dance partner Karen Hardy has gained many fans during the programme, and Bill says they will stay in touch even though the show has ended.

"I was privileged to dance with her, she is one of the best dancers in the world in her field. She is also a very good teacher, and a very nice person too. I was very lucky in all respects. She and Conrad Karen's husband and my wife and I have become friends. We are doing the half time draw at Wanderers against Boston on Tuesday, and then we are reprising the cha cha on the Christmas Special so we will see each other again."

He thinks different things contributed to his popularity.

"We laughed so much during our practice. Also I am a relatively ordinary bloke when it comes to dancing, and by the time we finished I was quite a lot older than any of the other competitors. One of the nice things was people coming up to me saying We started dancing because of you'. The message was that anyone can dance, and that got through to people in a way."

Before the show started, Bill was having doubts that it was a good idea, but he says the experience was entirely positive.

"I have no regrets whatsoever. I have loved the whole experience from beginning to end. There were some tough times, what with the foot and everything, but I've loved every minute. I danced in front of eight million people, and even wore sequins that I promised not to wear," he laughs.

And his new skills will not be lost. "My wife and I are going for our first lesson next week, and I will take it from there."