STRICTLY Come Dancing star Brendan Cole has offered the following advice to his Oxford counterparts: “confidence is key.”

Strictly Oxford 2013 – the city’s fundraising version of the hit BBC1 show on which Mr Cole is a dance instructor – launched on Saturday.

It will see 16 of the city’s great and good, ranging from heart surgeons to business directors, compete and raise money for dementia care home Vale House in Sandford- on-Thames.

They begin training on June 1 and will perform a series of dances in front of an audience at Oxford’s New Theatre on July 21.

Audience members will vote by text to decide the winner.

Mr Cole, above, who won the first series of Strictly Come Dancing with Natasha Kaplinsky in 2004, said: “Confidence is key. Most people do not know when you are doing something wrong, so do not give anything away when you mess it up.

“But most importantly, it is about having as good a time as you can while you are out there.”

Last year’s Strictly Oxford – which was won by Pegasus Theatre chief executive officer Euton Daley – raised £37,000 for Vale House and organisers hope this, the second year, will raise even more.

Organiser Mary Carey said: “We are moving from the Town Hall to the New Theatre so we are going to have a bigger, better and even more colourful show.

“It will be a really enjoyable evening and will raise lots of money for Vale House.”

To buy tickets for the event, visit newtheatreoxford.org.uk

AND THE DANCERS ARE:

TAKING part in Strictly Oxford 2013 are:
Prof Steve Westaby: Heart surgeon at the John Radcliffe Hospital who has completed 10,000 heart operations
He said: “My elderly mother has Alzheimer’s, and basically I am pleased to help. It is also an opportunity for me to learn to dance, which I have never done before – the closest I have come before is rugby.
Asked if he hoped to win, he said: “I am a heart surgeon, I have to win every time I perform.”
Karl Leitelmayer: Senior director
of Lloyds TSB
He said: “It was my wife’s 40th last year so I had a good enough excuse to side-step it. This year I didn’t have an excuse and wasn’t quick enough on my feet to come up with one.
“Hopefully my dance partner is extremely good to make up for my inadequacies.
“Normally the only time I dance is after eight pints.”
Asked if he hoped to win, he said: “Of course I am going to win… not.”
l Brigadier Ian Inshaw: Former High Sheriff of Oxfordshire, former garrison commander of Bicester Garrison and chairman of P3 Group
He said: “I do not know what it entails and I do not know if I am fit enough to do it, but I think it is another part of life. I just enjoy going and doing something different – and it sounds fun.”
Asked if he hoped to win, he said: “You are in it to win it.”
Shamus Donald: Regional managing director of Newsquest, which publishes the Oxford Mail and The Oxford Times
He said: “I could not come to the event last year because my eldest son was getting married, so I essentially stitched the Oxford Mail’s advertising manager Shane Harding up by saying she was going to do it instead.
“I thought having done that I am going to have to do it myself this year.
“I am terrified – I have never learned to dance. I tried a few lessons in the last few weeks and cannot remember a single thing.”
Asked if he hoped to win, he said: “I don’t think I’ll win.”
William Horwood: Best-selling author
He said: “Dancing triggers bad memories of a teacher who got impatient and shouted when we put a foot wrong. So I learnt I could never put a foot right, which is a real shame because movement, rhythm, beat, music and expression mean a lot to me.
“Taking part in Strictly Oxford, for me, is either insanity or a great opportunity to defeat my dance demon. At the moment it feels like insanity.”
Asked if he hoped to win, he said: “I very much doubt it.”
Dr Nick Brown: Principal of Linacre College, University of Oxford
He said: “This is just an opportunity to embarrass my teenage daughters.
“But principally I am in pain at the moment because I managed to break a bone in my foot yesterday out of sheer desperation to get out of this.” (He actually kicked a doorstep.)
Asked if he hoped to win, he said: “I am definitely not going to win.”
Jackie Kola: Chef at Vale House
She said: “I have never done anything like this before and my tummy is in knots, but I am a little bit excited as well, and it is a good cause.”
Asked if she hoped to win, she said: “Obviously I’m in to win.”
Nikki Loy: Singer/songwriter
She said: “I am really enthusiastic about it and I’m just looking forward to it. I think it’s going to be great.
“I always said when Strictly was on, if anyone asked me to do that I would be on board.”
Asked if she hoped to win, she said: “Yes, I am going to win. Definitely.”
Placi O’Niell-Espejo: Director of
Bicester Vision
She said: “I used to enjoy dancing in dance clubs 20 years ago, but that was a long time ago. I am a bit nervous and anxious – it is coming around quickly.”
Asked if she hoped to win, she said: “I am just happy to take part.”
Lindsay Sandison: Director of
Oxford City Orchestra
She said: “I am nervous, having seen how incredibly old I am compared to the others.
“But I am hugely excited, it is such a fantastic thing to raise money for.”
Asked if she hoped to win, she said: “Of course I’m going to win,”
l George Anderson: Personal trainer
He said: “I’m really looking forward to it. I wouldn’t say I am nervous at the moment, but that’s possibly because I haven’t thought about what is involved yet. As things go on that might change.”
Asked if he hoped to win, he said: “I’m in it to win it.”
Nina Brown: Yoga teacher who is finishing a postgraduate degree in Italian
She said: “I don’t really know what to expect. I have never done any of this kind of dancing.”
Asked if she hoped to win, she said: “I definitely wouldn’t say I’m going to win. I’m not doing it for the competition, I’m doing it for fun.”
Tina Tao: Unipart representative/
senior buyer
She said: “One of my mum’s best friends died of this disease, so it is close to my heart. It is a good opportunity to raise money for a good cause.
“I am very excited and I am very much looking forward to it.”
Asked if she hoped to win, she said: “I will do my best.”
Also competing will be:
Millius Palayiwa: Director of Fellowship of Reconciliation
Victoria Condratova: Director of Adbell International
Kat Orman: BBC Radio Oxford presenter