Mark Foster's blog by Mark_Foster

Hello everyone. Well it's been a busy week and one which saw me gearing up for the Strictly Tour with rehearsals for the live shows really kicking in. More on that later because it has also been a time for catching up with mates after the Xmas break and hearing all the stories of Xmas, families, tensions, drama and enjoyment.! First up was Andrew Castle and his lovely wife Sophia. A good night, a great dinner and Andrew has now fully recovered from his hip operation and is moving well. So well that he can still do "Cha, Cha" walks in the street. He is still gloating over the fact he put me out of Strictly in a dance-off. It is true and he was trying to show he still hasn't lost his dancing prowess, much to the joy of people passing by. Go Andrew!

I also had time to catch up with Andi Peters. Andi has so much going on, from producing shows, running a model agency and representing rugby players. And if you follow him on Twitter you will see he also finds time to be a gym addict!! And of course his love of Pineapple. In between dancing with Natalie, I drove up to Hinkley and delivered a talk (excuse the pun!!) to Tufnells the parcel express company. The theme was all about improving by 1% and how if each employee improved by 1%, how much difference collectively they could make to the company. Everybody has to take responsibility for their own 1% and together they can make huge changes. I echoed this theme by recounting how I had to improve my performance by 1% in my swimming career. A great gig and such a nice bunch of people.

Sometimes I get an invited to a film premier and rarely turn it down, well I get a bag of free popcorn!!! This week I got invited to Margin Call which is a thriller set in the high-stakes world of the financial industry. They described it as an entangling thriller involving the key players at an investment firm during one perilous 24-hour period in the early stages of the 2008 financial crisis. And they weren't lying. It was an exciting film and well worth a visit when it goes on general release. Before starting in earnest on Strictly, I managed to get down to the coast again and relaxed by the sea with a bit of walking, cooking and generally just hanging out. It’s such a great place to be to recharge the batteries before the storm of the tour.

I also managed to take time out to appear on the wonderful Gabby Logan Show along with Kerry Katona, Dr Hilary Jones (and a gorilla whisperer!!?) It was a nice gig which allowed me to promote The Strictly Come Dancing Live Tour and of course the Olympics (my favourite theme), get rid of an unwanted Xmas present in the form of some Jamie Oliver cook books I was given and talk Strictly. I am so impressed with how good Gabby is. Just so cool and a great host for the show. Then it was back to the rehearsal room.

I started full rehearsals last week, learning my dances, a waltz and a Cha Cha (god help us all) and the full company group dances. It’s a very steep learning curve let me tell you. But after a few days the rhythm is starting to flow a bit better and Natalie is such a superb teacher, it nearly makes sense to me!! The group dances tend to be a little more challenging, but thank god for Robbie Savage. He’s a great guy, good fun and thankfully a worse dancer than me! After this week we all head off to Birmingham to rehearse in the large arena. This is both exciting and very daunting, but I like being in a team again. And they are such a nice bunch of people both on the dance floor, the organisers and the techno people who make it all happen.

Mind you having now seen the wardrobe and what I have to wear, I get flashbacks of the nightmare costumes I wore on the TV show! But all in all I am really looking forward to getting started. I just hope I'm ready. Have a good week and see you all in Birmingham!