Surely the greatest skill an entertainer can have is making its audience feel comfortable, at home, relaxed in their company, akin to having a chat over the fence or a cuppa, befriending us?

This is certainly true of the Strictly Come Dancing stars who beam into our living rooms every autumn, dancing, smiling and chatting their way into our lives

And this is exactly why Kevin and Karen Clifton have branched out alone, launching a new dance show and tour, taking in the UK, to show us who they really are, and what they can do, to capitalise on their fame and realise their dream.

But it’s still a daunting prospect, going it alone, 22 venues in all, with new dates being added all the time: “It’s exciting and scary but we have wanted to do this for a long time and it’s our baby. We’ve been dancing together on Strictly for five years now and just want to be the best we can possibly be,” Karen tells me during a break from rehearsals.

“Yes we’ve been working really hard for months to make it as good and special as possible for everyone, but that is a pressure in itself. We are very much putting ourselves out there. This is who we are. This is Kevin and Karen,” Kevin adds.

“So the new show is about Venezuela and New York, Grimsby and London and everything in between. It’s about our life, our story, our style told through dance,” he tells me, unable to keep the excitement out of his voice, “Our own style. It’s such an exciting prospect – to dance together and show the audience what we are capable of.”

“We didn’t see the point in doing the same thing as everyone else, so this is more of a cabaret of dance which has a narrative. It’s our journey.”this is more of a cabaret of dance which has a narrative. It’s our journey.”

So why this need to break away from the Strictly pack? “We wanted people to see another side to us, away from Strictly and the whole celebrity thing,” Karen says simply. “To show what else we can bring to the table, and besides we don’t get to dance together much on Strictly, so this is wonderful. It can be quite stressful and exhausting but we both love it.”

How Kevin from Grimsby managed to snare the Venezualan World Mambo Champion is another favourite tabloid topic. But while both were at the top of their game; failed marriages, loneliness and self doubt was something they both struggled with. It was a meeting of minds as well as careers so when Kevin proposed on stage of new show Burn the Floor, he in front of a live West End audience in 2013, Karen immediately said yes.

Karen was a Strictly star years before Kevin though. “They rejected me twice before I got on,” he remembers, which is ironic considering how many times he’s won and how popular Kevin is, both he, and his sister Joanne reaching the final this year. “But I was gothic at the time - all black eyeliner and black hair.

“So I decided to smarten myself up a bit. And yes it did go against my principles because I didn’t want to cut my hair and then they still said no, they chose Aliash first and the Daily Mail kept going on about ‘poor Kevin from Grimsby.’ But once I got onto the show things started to change and suddenly I was ‘foxy Kevin,” he laughs, “so I’ve been very lucky.”

Karen of course wasn’t so lucky this year, her partner the singer and actor Will Young retiring early, scuppering her chances to get into the finals alongside her spouse. “It was something Will never explained. I always thought it was a great opportunity for him, to be part of Strictly. And everyone gets on so well and has a great time. So when Will left it was a big surprise for everybody and obviously sad for me,” she remembers.

“If we’d been voted off I would have understand it but I felt very powerless when he just left, and very upset, because it’s my job and I love it.”

So is the excitement we see when they meet their celebrity partners for the first time real or staged? “Oh its 100% genuine because that’s it, that’s you for the series, so it is a really exciting moment when you find out who you’ve been paired with,” Karen adds.

At least the pair can go through the Strictly circus together: “Strictly life is pretty crazy,” they agree. “We’’ll get back on Sunday night and start choreographing our routines in different rooms and then meet up for a chat and a demo,” Kevin laughs. “But we are both workaholics and there’s always stuff going on - Strictly tours and spin-offs, so we never really have down time. But we love being at home with our baby- a rescue dog called Betty. That’s where we can relax."

The pair have also started their own dance schools in three locations to get youngsters into dance without having to focus on exams. “We pop in when our schedules allow it and when you go in and see the kids, it makes it all worthwhile.”

“But we are so lucky,” Kevin said, as the pair get to their feet to carry on rehearsing: “We have always wanted to have our own show, from when we first got together. Strictly has opened so many doors for us and now we are finally ready to tell our story. What could be better than that?”

Kevin and Karen - Dance

New Theatre

Tuesday June 20

atgtickets.com

0844 8713020