bbspy

Why did you want to do Big Brother?
On a show like Strictly Come Dancing, you’re not there to show your own personality. You’re only there as a dancer and a choreographer and a mentor. It was an incredible platform for me to show my skill and my dancing. But I thought maybe it’s time to do something for myself and show who I am as a normal woman. To get up and be ‘me’ without make-up and hair.

Does that scare you?
Of course! It wouldn’t be normal if I wasn’t scared, but I have to embrace it and just go and cook and clean and do laundry and everything I do in normal life. I’m good at that stuff! I was brought up as a good Russian girl. Just because I’m a dancer, doesn’t mean I can’t do anything else. It’s time for people to get to know me.

What do you think the public perception is of you?
I think people think we are just these glamorous girls who just get up and put our eyelashes on, but it’s not like that. People probably don’t know that I have a degree, or that I spent 30 years studying dance and competing professionally. As much as I love Strictly, this is a good opportunity for me.

What sort of housemate will you be?
I’m a very curious person about others. I love listening to success stories. Everyone has a different life and I’m fascinated by how people get their careers. I’d like to make friends and learn about others. I hope it’s not annoying, but I like to ask lots of questions!

What might annoy you about your housemates?
For me, if they leave socks and underwear on their floor! If it’s your boyfriend or something it might be alright, but not if everyone does it!

And do you have any bad habits that will annoy others?
I love taking baths and showers, I probably spend too much time in the bathroom. I think people might find it annoying if I spend ages doing my skincare and my make-up so I might have to apologise in advance for that. I hope there will be some nice girly girls who can join in, though.

If there is any conflict, who would you deal with it?
The smart thing to do is stay out of it. If it’s not my battle, why go into it? But in that small house, with so many people, I probably will be provoked to step in at some point. I don’t like people bullying each other, it’s not okay. Verbal abuse is not okay. I guess sometimes I do feel protective towards people around me if they’re slightly weaker. I should stay away but my nature is to step in. But I’m not going in there to fight and argue. I will stand up for myself if I need to. But I hope I will make great connections with people.

There are a couple of housemates who want to learn to dance. Are you up for teaching them, or is that boring for you?
Of course, I would be honoured! I would be in my element, it would be incredible. Maybe I will get everyone up doing the salsa around the kitchen table, that would be fun.

If there are any potential romances, would you encourage that?
I think people always hope for a romance. Perhaps we’ll have some love triangles! We’ll see what happens. I’ll be standing watching, wondering what’s going to happen, like everyone else. If there’s a connection and it’s meant to be, then why not? It will be interesting, these things happen. It would be great to have some lovebirds in the house! It would be quite cute. Why not?

Do you know any of the rumoured housemates?
I know Nancy from when she did Strictly, the TV show and then the tour. It would be fun to see her again. I like Nancy. On the tour she was a really fun personality to be around, she always liked to have fun and drink champagne and so on. She was kind of crazy, but in a good way. She has a warm Italian attitude towards people she likes. But when you’re on tour you see each other for a couple of hours then go back to your separate hotel rooms. When you’re living in the house 24/7, that could be different. Living together could be a challenge for anyone.

Are there any names from the rumoured line-up that intrigue you?
I think Jonathan is probably in the same boat as me. He’s on the Kim Kardashian show as her best friend; it’s not all about him. So perhaps he wants to show people how he is, the same as I want to show people who I am as a normal girl. So it would be interesting to talk to him if he is interested in me. That would be fun.

Did any of your family and friends have any advice for you?
Everybody had a lot of advice! Everyone had something to say. It’s a TV show; it’s the same as I say to my celebs on Strictly. You have to understand it’s an entertainment show. Any game plans are not going to work. You can only keep that going for a couple of days. I wondered if it was the right thing to do but surprisingly, everyone said to me that it was a good thing to do. They said, ‘You’re a great person, you’ve got nothing to hide, we’ve known you for years, so let people see the real you’.

You’ve had quite a hard time in the press. Is that why you want people to know the real you?
It was quite shocking how vicious it was. It taught me a lot about myself. But I also feel it came in a moment where my mum was quite unwell, and it put everything in perspective. My mum is important and nothing else matters. I learned to be strong. I don’t really know why everyone is so fascinated in us professional dancers and our lives. I didn’t go into Strictly for the fame. I went in to be the best artist I could be. I just love dancing for dancing’s sake. I think sometimes people forget that. I don’t want to be famous, I just want to make a living because I have a family to support.

Are you comfortable with being in the public eye now?
I think if I get chatting to somebody and they are interested and I have a connection, its okay to talk about my private life. It’s not okay if I’m forced and bullied into talking about it because everyone has the right to a private life.

What’s the worst thing that could happen?
Well I don’t drink, which is strange for a Russian, so it won’t be anything like that! If someone is rude to me on purpose, to try and break that barrier, that will be bad. Anyone, if you have your buttons pushed, will stand up and say anything. I hope nobody will be vicious. It’s not that I’m scared to stand up for myself. But having anybody bully you would be anybody’s worst nightmare.

What will you miss the most?
My family, my loved ones. I was crying today and they said, ‘You’re not going to war, Kristina, you will be back!’ But it’s unusual not to have your phone at least to communicate. I am quite addicted to my phone. My mum said to me, ‘When you grew up, Kristina, we didn’t even have a phone in the house! You had to go and put 20p in the phone box’. We managed to live okay then, and everything was fine, so I’m sure I can survive.

Would you like to win?
I never even thought about it, that’s the truth. I don’t think I will. I think the British public will support someone they’ve known for longer than me. I don’t have any game plan to show off how great I am. It’s an entertainment show and there will be lots of big characters so it’s out of my hands. All I really want to do is show not Kristina the dancer, but Kristina the woman, the human being.