Strictly's John Sergeant

Friday, 29th August 2008

John Sergeant is one of Britain's most popular and respected broadcasters and authors.

His award-winning career as a political journalist has been as lengthy as it has been successful and has seen him interview heavyweight luminaries such as Margaret Thatcher, Tony Blair and John Major.

In recent years John has also become known for his appearances on comedy panel shows such as Have I Got News For You, QI and Room 101.

John says: "I thought it was about time that I did something a bit absurd… My wife is a huge fan of Strictly Come Dancing and thinks I'm going to be terrible, but I'm looking forward to the ballroom so I can feel taller and slimmer in the Latin heels!"

Kristina Rihanoff is John Sergeant's dance partner

New to Strictly Come Dancing, Siberian-born Latin American mambo specialist Kristina has danced all around the world and has a pedigree which includes South African International Latin Champion and British Open Latin semi-finalist.

Kristina is a dedicated and vivacious professional dancer, passionate about everything to do with Ballroom and Latin dancing.

Kristina's hobby is professional make-up. She has a passion for making ladies look beautiful on the dance floor and has written a make-up book for ladies in the dancing world.

She believes there is a definite skill in teaching anyone to dance and says: "The main thing is to understand the other person's way of learning. Then, even when the work gets hard, they still feel like they are having a good time and accomplishing something great.

"I want my partner to have a mind like a parachute – open and ready to do anything!"