Billy Connolly Learns to Tango...

PAMELA Stephenson , who was a contestant on Strictly Come Dancing in 2010, is so passionate about dance that she’s produced new dance drama at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe.

BILLY Connolly has learned to tango and jive after his dance-mad wife Pamela Stephenson encouraged him to partner her.

Pamela, who was a contestant on Strictly Come Dancing in 2010, is so passionate about dance that she’s produced new dance drama show Brazouka about Brazilian born lambazouk dancer Braz Dos Santos at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe.

She admitted she tries to dance whenever she can but that Billy has not quite mastered the lambada yet.

She said: 

“Billy is not good enough at it yet to lead because playing the leading man is quite hard. It’s such a cheeky dance and also nurturing and sensual and had many languages to it.

"He’s doing quite well with tango and he can jive so I jive with him and of course I do Scottish dance with him because ceilidhs are our thing.”

She added: 

“I dance with the cast all the time. They love to social dance and want to when they have finished their day’s work. I’m usually too tired after the Edinburgh shows, but sometimes we hire a hall and everybody has a dance.

Billy loves this dance and loves the show and is coming back in a couple of days. He’s been twice already and he one hundred percent supports it.

He’s even written the jokes for it and will write new ones when the World Cup football jokes get old.”

Pamela, who teamed up with ex Strictly mentor and choreographer Arlene Phillips, is enjoying producing her first ever show at Assembly Hall for the Edinburgh Festival Fringe.

She said:  

“It’s just an amazing atmosphere here and it’s a showcase. It’s a place where you can bring a show try it out. It’s a very important trial by fire.

"These people, who come from all over the world, are teachers in dance and had never performed for audience before. They were very both terrified and fantastically excited to get a feel for the audience. For them, it’s a dream come true to have people standing up at the end of every show and telling them in the streets how amazing they are.”

Pamela, who plans to take Brazouka to Wimbledon, South Africa and Australia, also revealed that she and Billy are doing their best to avoid comedy at the Edinburgh festival.

She explained: 

“Can you imagine taking Billy to a comedy show. I don’t think that’s going to happen. He’s a great audience and he really supports other artists but I think it might be a bit daunting. Billy doesn’t like seeing other comedians in case he’s scared that six months from now he’s going to have this great idea and it’s actually going to be someone else’s.”

Click on: Billy Learns to Tango and Jive for a video of Pamela Stephenson discussing her love for, and Billy's warming to, tango and other couple dances.

Here's a video of Pamela dancing Argentine Tango on stage: