Cherie: "Me As Some Kind Of Sex Object? I Really Don't Think So"

Despite being the diva of the dancefloor on Strictly, and recieving sackloads of saucy fan mail, Cherie Longhi doesn't see herself as a sex symbol.

She tells the Daily Mirror: "This may come as a shock to some people but I can't help the way I feel. How others perceive me is, of course, entirely up to them and I am flattered by the attention and interest I am now receiving. But me as some kind of sex object? I really don't think so - that's not how I see myself and it's not how I've seen myself for a little while now."

She plans to grow old gracefully and play roles that suit her, rather than opt for surgery to keep young.

She also tells of her love of ballroom over the years: "My mum - and my granny and I - would close the curtains, turn on the TV and snuggle up and watch Come Dancing. It was actuallymy granny who was the biggest fan, she loved the show and she passed on her passion for it to me. I loved the dancing but also the frocks and the glamour. It seemed like a very special world they were inhabiting, as the dancers spun around the dancefloor under the powerful lights, a world of glamour and excitement. It's a world that I've always kept a vision of at the back of my mind and the chance to be a part of the modern version of it was irresistible."