GLAMOROUS dancing star Erin Boag has revealed that she had to force celebrity partner Peter Schmeichel to get close and sexy with her in Strictly Come Dancing because he was too reserved and straight laced.

The Kingston-based New Zealander, who has become one of the leading ladies of the hit BBC show, said: "I had to order Peter to get closer to me and be more sexy on the dance floor. I believe Lilia Kopylova and Karen Hardy had the same problems with Matt Dawson and Mark Ramprakash.

"Some of the male celebrities felt uncomfortable, especially as their wives were watching, and it took a few weeks for them to overcome their reluctance.

"I explained to Peter that the rumba is one of the most intimate dances in the world and, in order to tell the story of the music, you have to show passion. If there is no sexual chemistry, the dance loses something and the judges mark you down."

But the chemistry was there when Erin and her previous celebrity partner Colin Jackson won a Strictly Come Dancing Christmas Special, which was one of the most-watched programmes in the country on Christmas Day, attracting 7.6million viewers.

Erin said: "We chose to dance the quickstep and were awarded a perfect score of four tens for the first time to win the trophy. It was about time after four series, and made up for Colin and I losing out in the third series to Lilia and Darren Gough."

Good news for local dance fans is that Erin is to re-open her popular classes. They will again be held at Kingston Dance Studios, Canbury Park Road, Kingston (opposite the railway station) on Mondays from January 15 to September, with beginners from 7.30pm to 8.30pm and improvers from 8.45pm to 9.45pm.

Erin said: "I am catering for everyone, including those who have never danced before. I want to help others enjoy an exhilerating social activity which is also a fun way to exercise and keep fit.

"There is no need to book, people can just turn up."

The 31-year-old Boag, who has danced professionally with Anton du Beke for nine years, reckons that Strictly Come Dancing has taken over her life. She said: "It is the most gruelling - but enjoyable - work I have done. It means a total commitment and, for almost four months at a time, I only see my boyfriend Peter O'Dowd once a week.

"With Peter Schmeichel I put in four hours-a-day, seven-days-a-week for 11 weeks. Peter was presenting Champions League football on TV in Denmark so, every second week, I'd spend Monday to Friday in Copenhagen with him or in studios near his home in Manchester.

"It was the biggest challenge I had undertaken. At 6ft 4in and 17 stone of solid muscle, Peter had never danced before and lacked grace.

"Despite his agility as a goalkeeper with Manchester United, he had poor balance and had weak ankles because he had damaged his ligaments. I had to give him special exercises to build them up.

"Although they call me Miss Whiplash because I am demanding, I don't believe in yelling or screaming at my partners. I used a carrot and stick' method with Peter by encouraging him and pushing him. He liked to repeat steps over and over until he got them right. But I had to push and pull him a bit and that is so tough with a man his size.

"There was some bickering between Georgina Bouzova and James Jordan over the amount of time she was available to practice, but most of us had great fun, and Jimmy Tarbuck, who lives near me at Kingston Hill, was always cracking jokes. It was such a shame he had to drop out due to bad health.

"The various couples realise that no matter how passionate they have to get on the dance floor, it means nothing off it." But what about the winners of series one, Natasha Kaplinsky and Brendan Cole? "Their relationship was an exception," said Erin, "and they were single."

For details on Erin's dance classes call Kingston Dance Studio on 0208 546 2312 or visit antonanderin.com