BRENDAN Cole is proud of the fact that he and Anton du Beke are "still going strong" in Strictly Come Dancing, having danced in every series for the past 13 years.

As he prepares to bring his latest touring show, A Night To Remember, to Darlington, Cole has gone down in history as the first professional dancer to with Strictly with celebrity partner Natasha Kaplinsky. He came close again with Kirsty Gallacher last year, but his friendly rival du Beke finally thought he had a chance of victory with Katie Derham having reached the final, but finished fourth.

"Didn't he just think he had a chance. That's another thing I put in my latest show. I poke fun at the audience for not seeing him all the way through in the final. The one chance the producers and audiences have given him and they took it away at the last minute," says Cole.

He's actually had four or five chances to clinch a second TV title. "Lisa Snowdon, Sophie Ellis-Bextor Sunetra Sarker were good enough and there was a reason for Kelly Brook dropping out. During my show I can talk about what happens behind the scenes and what relationships I have with different people and the other Strictly couples, and why it's successful or its not. It's always interesting to see the crowd's reaction to what you say," Coles says.

Aylesbury-based Cole confesses that he's a hard taskmaster when it comes to putting his sixth show on the road.

"When you're not on the road you miss it, but on the road you think, 'I'm blooming tired, when is my day off?' It's the kind of show where every cast member is involved and it's not a chore to do, but it is hard work. To my detriment, I'm a bit of a control freak because this is not something that is done for me and I just rock up and perform. This is very much my production right down to the costumes, casting and music," he says.

The dancer does share the choreography with his eight dancers and describes himself as the head chef with everyone else helping to create the dishes. "My input is probably 90 per cent of what people see on stage. We've got 14 in the band plus the crew which puts us on the road, so it's getting bigger and bigger. To me, it's important to never had a dull moment on stage. That moment where people might be tempted to switch off or fall asleep. I didn't want that, so the show is full on from start to finish in terms of switching from the more emotional dances to the high-tempo routines. That means costume changes are down to 30 seconds and dancers are back out again," says Cole, who is on the microphone when he's not dancing... and somehow manages 11 costume changes.

He's cautious about revealing whether he's been invited back for series 14 of Strictly. "They do it year by year. It's not so much by negotiation, it's more, 'Do you want it, or are you not coming back'. So far, so good. This year I hope it will be the same and it if does happen and I'm free and willing then I'll be there with bells on."

Cole has judged the New Zealand version of Strictly, Dancing With the Stars, and says: "The judging role is an easy one compared to what we do. It's very nice to be sat there and you never get voted out. If one day I was approached to judge Strictly I'd jump at the chance. At the moment, I'm a dancer and who knows what will happen in the future.

"As a judge it's nice to be able to share your knowledge and still have the fun and create a bit of humour. It's an entertainment show, so we are all entertainers. Or some of us are."

Moving from dancer to judge did make him think carefully about comments he made on other performances.

"Quite often a flippant comment can destroy a celebrity partner and their ability to move next time they try. Ultimately, you look at what you see and try and deliver a response, which can be flippant, quirky, serious or instructive. You make your judgement."

Has Cole lived down his bad boy image where he would clash with the judges over their verdicts or be accused of putting in unofficial dance moves like lifts in his routines?

"Well, yes. I haven't really had the opportunity to be too risque in the past few years. A few partners I have had, the judges should have been a bit harder on, but they weren't. I didn't even get a chance to jump in and defend. My feeling is that there is no point in being a bad boy for the sake of being a bad boy, there has to be a reason. In the early days I had a reason and I was probably a bit more feisty in those days. I think the great thing about having your own show is that you can play to those stereotypes and have a bit of fun. I do say some risky things on stage and have the audience on the edge of their seats. The audience gets to see my playful side and cheeky side, which Strictly doesn't always allow you to do.

"You've got 30 seconds on camera and its all devoted to the celebrity. In the old days it was a bit more of a mix, but now they focus more on the celeb, which is only right because that's what the show is all about."

Both Cole and du Beke are out on tour at the moment although the New Zealander stresses that his show has more of a Latin American flavour.

"We are two competing shows, but we wish each the best. I've quipped, 'Make sure you check out Anton's show... it's the second best in the UK'. One time, about two years ago, I was playing Cardiff and his name was mentioned during my q&a section so I gave him a call. I put him on the speaker even though he didn't know I was calling. He started laughing and that was quite lucky because he does tend to swear quite a lot and we have that kind of relationship where we take the mickey out of each other, but we also have a good friendship."

n Brendan Cole, A Night To Remember, Darlington Civic Theatre, Thursday, February 18, 3pm and 7.30pm. Box Office: 01325-486-555