Under the Strictly Glitterball with Jamie Laing: 'this is a tricky week - it might shake things up'

I’m still in a whirl of excitement following our triumphant Movie Week Charleston. It was a very fast dance and an amazing experience. We’re in a real horrible time at the moment so Strictly is all about having fun. I’d gladly dress up as Hercules every week if that’s what it takes to make people laugh.

I must say, I was rather disappointed not to go topless - instead they gave me a wrestling suit and a wig. And those little blue wings I was wearing kept getting in the way. But whatever they want, I’m up for it. I asked to keep the wig, which seemed to make its own bid for freedom halfway through our routine, but unfortunately I’m not allowed to take it home.

To be honest, I was talking myself out of performing it in that wacky way, when really I should have been talking myself into it. In the end, I just had to go for it. I think we pitched it just right and we got the highest score on Strictly ever - 887… that’s how it works, right?

It was a lot of hard work and the weeks are long. When it comes to Fridays, we turn up to Elstree for our studio rehearsal. As soon as we drive through the gates we have our temperatures checked to keep Covid safe. We each have our own dressing rooms, too - Karen and I are in a bubble together and there’s a little sink in the corner, a bit like the ones in hairdressers. But Karen refuses to wash my hair for me! Hair and make-up come in to transform us and then we do three run-throughs on the dance floor, where we check for camera angles. We do a full dress-rehearsal on Saturday afternoons and we have food made for us on the premises before the big show. We don’t leave the studio until very late.

It’s such fun and I really want to go all the way to the final. At the end of our dance, I was cheering really loudly because I was just so chuffed with how it went. Then I heard the crowd [made up of our dancing peers] cheer and saw them all up on their feet. A standing ovation! For me? I was so thrilled that I just dropped Karen to the floor. Whoops! She was ok though - more of a tumble.

In rehearsals, the lift at the end of the routine never really came off. I would just rugby tackle Karen and hope for the best. But on the night it actually worked and she just appeared up on my shoulders, so no wonder I was ecstatic. I mean, it was practically on par with the Dirty Dancing lift. But, of course, I looked way cooler dressed as Hercules.

I’m doing the Samba this week and we’ve got a banger of a tune with Bamboléo by Gipsy Kings. The word means "wobble" "sway" or "dangle" in Spanish. I’m definitely doing all those things, but maybe not in the correct way. It’s another technically hard dance, but I think it’s going to be quite a tricky week for everyone. Along with my Samba, there’s a few Cha Chas and a Jive in there, which are all notoriously difficult routines, so it might shake things up a bit with the judges.

I’ve been concentrating hard on my Samba rolls, but this routine is all about the bounce. There’s no doubting that I have energy and bounce, but I just have to be able to transfer it to a dance routine. Karen and I have to mirror each other a lot, which isn’t hard with our matching hairstyles, but it’s a quite frantic routine. My heart rate hasn’t got up to the dizzying heights of last week yet, but there’s still time...

Strictly Come Dancing is on Saturday on BBC One at 7.10pm and Sunday at 7.25pm

Jamie Laing was talking to Rachel Ward

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