October to December last year was cold, damp and miserable but, for a couple of hours of a Saturday and Sunday evening, a little shimmer of light came our way, thanks to the glitter and dazzle of Strictly Come Dancing. When series 11 ended the weekend before Christmas, for many of us it signalled the start of the long, bleak stretch with no light at the end of the tunnel until at least spring. Brrrrr.

But help is at hand, in the form of Strictly pro dancer Brendan Cole, who’ll be bringing a little bit of glamour and sparkle our way when he brings his show Licence to Thrill back to Watford in February. Not long to wait!

“I really miss Strictly when it’s over,“ admits the 37-year-old New Zealander, “especially after having such a good series with Sophie Ellis-Bextor, it really was great. For four months it’s full-on intensive, but at the end of it you do have a real sense of ‘Oh, it’s over’.

“So it’s great to have this tour. I put the show together and it’s a culmination of a lot of hard work, at least a year and a half’s. We got a phenomenal reaction when we did it at the beginning of 2012, so I’m really excited to put it on again. But then I’ll miss this too when it finishes!“

Licence to Kill kicked off in Eastbourne last week and continues until mid-March, and this time around there are two changes to last year’s version – a fabulous new opening number to the second act of the show and a leading lady in the shape of Brendan’s fellow Strictly pro Aliona Vilani.

“Unfortunately Fauve Hautot, my leading lady before, hurt her cartilage in her knee a few weeks before Christmas,“ says Brendan, who has lived in the UK since he was 18. “She’s had her operation and she’s on the mend, but it’s a slow recovery with knees, and we were all gutted that she couldn’t do the show, she was a massive part of it and a fantastic talent.

“But to have somebody like Aliona step in is great, she’s one of the best dancers I know. I think she’s going to bring an added dimension to it – it’s an extra bonus for the people who really love Strictly.“

Also joining Brendan on stage will be his older brother Scott, who appeared in the show last year as well.

“Scotty brings a nice interesting twist to things, you never know what the hell he’s going to do,“ Brendan laughs.

“Opening night last year, we nearly lost him to one of the pyrotechnics. We were told to stay a meter and a half away from them as when they go off, they go off with a bang – but, of course, he was stood right over it.“

And some shows are even more of a family affair, if Brendan’s wife Zoe Hobbs, the British model, and one-year-old baby daughter Aurelia make it along to watch.

“We’ve just had her first birthday, she was born on Christmas Day,“ says Brendan, “so that made it hectic – sorry, special! It’s more for the parents, isn’t it, she’s not aware of what’s going on, but it was a very special day for us, she’ll never turn one again.“

Aurelia has just started walking, he reveals – any sign of the odd dance step yet?

“Not yet! No, I’m hoping she might go into golf and tennis, so she can play with her old man. But she has got great posture, which she must get from both me and her mum, so you never know.“