Strictly's Alex Kingston details 'silly snobbery' that saw her banned from BBC show

Alex Kingston has revealed she's been desperate to appear on Strictly Come Dancing ever since her role alongside George Clooney in ER came to an end in 2004 - but was banned by her agent.

Now the actress, who played Dr Elizabeth Corday in the hit US medical drama, says she believes the “silly” snobbery around serious stage actors taking part in reality TV is finally breaking down.

And Alex, also known for her role as Doctor Who’s iconic recurring character River Song, was delighted when she finally got the go-ahead to sign up for the BBC ballroom show.

"It's funny because I've been asked in the past and my agent always sort of said, ‘No, you can't do it’, she explained. “Now I think it's just that I've got to a certain stage in my life where he's like, ‘If you want to do it, Alex…’ because I've been wanting to do it for 20 years.

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“For a long time I think there’s been a sort of stigma around Strictly and popular television. And if you're a theatre actor, theatre actors don't participate - which is silly. And it’s not true. I think it’s changing now, I really do. I think people are more generous in terms of their opinions about Strictly.”

Asked why that might be, she mused: “Maybe because it’s been going for so long? Or that you’re seeing more actors just going, ‘sod it, I want to do it’. I mean I really don’t know!”

And she added that being a theatre star shouldn’t mean she only performs for a certain elite group of people. “Just because I do Shakespeare, Shakespeare wrote populist plays, you know?” she points out. “He didn’t write for a certain level of society. So it’s a way of connecting with your audience.”

Seeing her close pal and fellow actor Sarah Hadland take part last year - and reach the final - only made Alex want to do it more. “My friends have all said, ‘you've been banging on about it - thank God you're finally doing it.’

But the Surrey-born star, who wed third husband Jonathan Stamp in 2015, says she did pause for thought at the last moment - especially when Sarah told her how demanding the whole experience could be. “I know that it's going to be really challenging, and we’re all going to be pushed really to the edge, and beyond, of our comfort zone. But that's what life’s for, isn't it? Just jumping in, going for it. Doing things you'll never regret.”

Sarah, 54, has helped Alex to prepare, at least mentally, for what lies ahead. “She didn't pull any punches and she sort of said how wonderful it is, but she also did say how hard it is and that it can be absolutely overwhelming at times. It was really good advice, because it was incredibly measured.

“It's sort of like you're jumping off this plane that is about to take off, and you're running alongside it, and hoping that you can cling on and carry on flying with it. But it is a lot, and that's what she was preparing me for. So I did think quite hard about saying yes, but then at the end of the day I couldn't say no. Not when I've always wanted to do it.”

Alex says she is a keen groover and is excited to explore what she can bring to the audience using movement rather than her usual dialogue. “I love dancing. I mean, I used to dance in the 90s, just clubbing. But at home now, when I'm doing the ironing, I have music on and I’m dancing with my ironing board in the kitchen. I love expressing myself.

“As an actor, it's just all about the word - but you can also speak with your body. I'm in awe of ballet dancers and modern dancers, and how they can affect somebody in the audience without a single word, just from how they convey the emotion through their bodies. Even though what we're doing is slightly different, you are telling a story, you're conveying an emotion. And I'm so excited about having a go.”

Alex may well seek tips from her 24-year-old daughter, Salome, whose father is her German second husband Florian Haertel. Alex’s first marriage, to actor Ralph Fiennes lasted just four years after it emerged he was having an affair with fellow actor Francesca Annis.

Despite her wealth of life experience, Alex admits she realised too late that she could have upped her fitness levels ahead of the competition. “I’m a bit achy today,” she confessed. “I have to say, when I saw that quite a lot of guys are athletes, and they were all posting what they were doing - Harry was at the gym and all this sort of thing - I actually started to think, ‘maybe I shouldn't have done a bit of training myself’.

Strictly Come Dancing launches on BBC1, September 20, 6.40pm.

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