Prime mover

LATIN and ballroom dancer Pasha Kovalev has quick-stepped his way into the hearts of female viewers with his smoking hot performances on Strictly Come Dancing, BBC’s hit celebrity show.

Born in Siberia in 1980, he started dancing when he was eight years old. “It was really cold in Siberia so maybe that is why I started dancing to keep warm,” he quips.

He describes himself as something of a gypsy, living out of two suitcases as he crisscrosses the Atlantic to perform on stage and on TV — he has featured in the US show So You Think You Can Dance since 2007.