TV presenter Bill Turnbull has been brushing up on his quickstep to compete in Strictly Come Dancing. Jeremy Campbell visits him at his home in Jordans.

The Chilterns has a secret weapon, and his name is Bill Turnbull. Last Saturday a new series of Strictly Come Dancing began.

From his home in Jordans, where he keeps chickens and bees, along with two black labradors, Bill told me all about his ballroom adventure.

He has been working hard, but he is not making any predictions. All of the practice sessions (so far that's 18 of two to four hours each) have been filmed, but behind closed doors.

Many of them begin with a workout so hard, that he is drenched in sweat before the dancing begins. And he has run marathons, this year in a bee keeper's outfit.

He has learned the cha-cha and the quickstep in his month of training, and looks every inch the ballroom dancer as he poses for photos.

It wasn't always this way. There have been days when he has been drenched during a live broadcast from a hurricane engulfed Florida, or in the midst of a violent riot in Tblisi, or witnessing a quiet revolution in Russia.

Much has changed since he filed his first report for the BBC in 1981.

He says: "One of the things that really changed us is the mobile phone. You used to go off and do a story, and the office would not be able to get in touch for two days. Now they can be in touch with you every ten minutes. And they often are, which is a good thing and a bad thing," he jokes.

He is much like his television persona, authoritative and fair, with a warm joke to hand. He often pauses before answering questions, which is very reassuring. A poise which will surely serve him well on the dance floor.

His first report for the Beeb was about wild flowers, but he has also seen history in the making. The job always comes first.

"You have to first find out what's going on, to understand what's going on, and get it back to London. You worry about the historical relevance later. In the 1990s I was in Russia a lot, and there was a lot of reform happening. But it was only after the fact that I realised I was witnessing the break-up of the Soviet Union."

He does not often watch his own reports, and admits to keeping only one film of himself in Haiti, where he researched and filmed an extraordinary report on voodoo, and werewolves. He hopes to return to a place that he describes as "A little bit of Africa in the western hemisphere, and one of the poorest countries in the world, with amazing people."

He may get the chance. Bill has now become one of television's most recognised news presenters. But a new policy means he can be deployed in far flung lands.

Hurricane Katrina is still fresh in his memory.

"I got to Louisiana two days after it hit. When you do disaster stories they can be very harrowing because of the people suffering. This time there weren't many people around, but the scale of the destruction was like nothing I've seen before."

When he returned from Louisiana, he had a message about Strictly Come Dancing.

He says: "I spoke to a few people, and nobody could come up with a reason not to do it. My family said it was a no brainer'. I was reluctant at first, and they record every minute of the practice, so I felt rather gauche. But as the weeks went by I loosened up a bit, and it has actually been quite an amazing journey."

Walking onto the dance floor is against all his training for television.

"When you are reading the news, rule one is to sit still, don't do anything. And dance is all about doing everything. In a composed and disciplined manner, you have to let it all hang out. So there is a huge gulf that you have to cross."

He has plenty to live up to. His fellow Breakfast star Natasha Kaplinsky won the first series. But his motivation comes from a rival channel's breakfast host, Fiona Philips.

"There's no comparison between Natasha and me," he laughs, "she has been very supportive. But I know Fiona of old, and I can't go out before her. It would be great if we both got to the final, but I think the odds are pretty long."

Bill is, famously, a Wycombe Wanderers fan and commentator for Radio 5 Live, and with the Blues top of the league, he has mixed emotions about his schedule while he is still in the ballroom competition.

He says: "I had to stop commentating, as you have to spend Saturday getting made up, and dressed, so I can't get from the Causeway (stadium) to the studios in time,". He is clearly unimpressed with this, so win or lose in Strictly Come Dancing, he will have something to celebrate.

The bookies have him as a 25-1 outsider, and there is stiff competition. But with the whole of Bucks behind him, and a little luck, Chiltern's finest could go far. Wycombe to win the league, and Bill Turnbull to win Strictly Come Dancing? Might be a good bet.

Strictly Come Dancing is on BBC One on Saturday at 6.30pm

Zoe's ready to give a twirl

Bill Turnbull is not the only local to be gracing the Strictly Come Dancing ballroom.

Zoe Ball, who grew up in Bucks, and whose father is still a resident in Farnham Common, is also in the competition. Now she is a mum, Zoe has become more used to dancing at weddings than clubs or raves.

She says: "It's brilliant dancing with the dads and uncles because they always know what they're doing and there's something great about being flung around by a man." Zoe is hoping that her dancing will be more successful on this show than it was on Strictly Dance Fever.

Having begged the producer to let her dance with one of the dancers at the beginning of the show.

Zoe explains: "I totally messed up and threw myself on the floor rather than letting him tip me back. It was a classic Bridget Jones moment and I revealed my knickers".

Hopefully one of the Bucks locals will do a little better than this on the more formal Strictly Come Dancing which begins this Saturday.

Other contestants are Bill Turnbull, Colin Jackson, Fiona Philips, Dennis Taylor, Patsy Palmer, Darren Gough, Siobhan Hayes, Gloria Hunniford, Jaye Jacobs, James Martin and Will Thorp.