I can’t wait any longer to give you the answer – it’s the fabulous Anton Du Beke.

Isn’t Strictly Come Dancing marvellous? We gawp as some celebrities morph into graceful swans, whilst others splash and sink into the mire of Craig’s scorn.

Ballroom and latin dancing is beautiful to watch –exquisite dresses, sparkling Swarovski crystals, glamorous make-up, stunning hair-styles, all showcasing the graceful fusion of two people gliding across the dance floor as one.

But it is an illusion, which melts like the stage makeup when cold cream is applied (now I am showing my age), once the performance is over.

As an amateur dancer  myself I can assure you that there is a very different world behind the glamour – a world of alliances, politics and sometimes, foul play.  I know of a world champion who regularly had her bra stolen from the changing room whilst she was competing –and that was in the days when au natural was definitely not fashionable.

So I for one am waiting with unashamed excitement for the debut novel of the fabulous Anton Du Beke, who has hung up his Werner Kerns at least long enough to pour his creativity onto pages instead of the dance floor.

His novel, entitled One Enchanted Evening, will be set around a London hotel ballroom in the lead up to World War II and is set to publish in Autumn 2018 by Bonnier Zaffre. Will he let us into some secrets of the real ballroom world? Oh, I think so …

One Enchanted Evening: pub Bonnier Zaffre. Autumn 2018.

From Both Ends of the Stethoscope by award winning author, Dr Kathleen Thompson