Dancing favourites and stars of the West End, Vincent Simone and Flavia Cacace, are set to embark on their latest UK tour this month. The pair have been dancing together for 22 years and are now set to grace stages around the country with what is to be their last tour, Tango Moderno.

Flavia met her husband Jimi Mistry on the hit BBC One show Strictly Come Dancing and here she tells Marion McMullen they are now gym buddies too.

Does your husband, actor Jimi Mistry, share your love of exercise?

(Laughs) He loves exercise and he's always in the gym. We have a gym at our house, we are very lucky, so there is nothing to stop us. Jimi is really into his gym workouts and it's right there for us, so there is no excuse whatsoever.

What does your fitness routine involve?

Even when I am not dancing, I go to the gym and take my dogs for long walks, like two or three hours a day. I like to keep active and fit and I do weights and exercise, but nothing compares to the physicality of dance. It’s such a great exercise performing and it's very difficult to replicate that. I've been using those muscles again in rehearsals for the new tour (chuckles). We're in a world of pain, basically.

You famously partnered celebrities such as astrologer Russell Grant during your time on Strictly Come Dancing. Did you have any idea how big the dance show would become?

Not really. It seems like a lifetime ago now. When we joined the show it was still relatively unknown and the size of it, well I don't think anyone, the dancers and the producers, were aware of how big it would become.

I wasn't aware of it until it happened and even then we were so engrossed in choreographing and rehearsing for the show that we were totally oblivious to it. Now it's a different thing and everybody knows if you perform on that show people are going to know who you are. I suppose when we started we were all a little naive.

Do you have time to watch Strictly these days?

It's difficult while on tour. You always hear from someone though about what is happening, but I don't sit and watch religiously.

Vincent Simone and Flavia Cacace are set to wow the crowds on their latest tour

The Last Tango tour in 2016 with your dance partner Vincent Simone was planned to be your farewell tour. What changed your minds?

(Laughs) We say this is going to be the last tour every year. It's such hard work putting these shows together and we've done three tours now, which means six months touring at a time.

Tango Moderno is going to be the last theatre tour. In January we met with our producer and we knew we were going to have six months off first and mentally we knew we were probably going to be feeling pretty good. We were quite tired after the last West End run and we thought this would be very different, more minimal (laughs). But the show has evolved.

How did you and Vincent first meet?

We met when we were teenagers. I must have been about 16 and he was 17, something along those lines. We were very young. It’s quite mad really, your life changes so much, but we have been dancing together now for 22 years.

We are both originally from Italy and there was a form of contact there from the start just with the language. The dancing has kept our friendship going. We love dance and we love what we do.

Does it get any easier for you both putting together a new show?

It is a mental challenge after so many years of choreographing and putting routines together. We have done so many dance steps together after 22 years and there is not all that much that we haven't done, but we still have that sense of creativity. Physically it's just wear and tear on your feet and back and muscles. You feel it a little bit more. It's a challenge.

Was it a highlight winning the Strictly Glitterball trophy with gymnast Louis Smith before you left?

Vince and I felt that was the right time for us to move on and do other things. We both made it to the final that year and I was lucky to take the Glitterball. It was the cherry on the cake really to leave and have that positive memory, but definitely for us it was the right time to go.

Any plans for after the tour?

We are looking at other dance projects, but it might take some time to get them up and running. We are looking at a potential dance film and various other ideas, but it's hard to do anything at the moment when we are so busy with the tour.

What about your new skill as a dog groomer?

(Laughs) I had a six-month break from touring and I fancied trying my hand at something new, something I knew would challenge me. I have two dogs of my own at home and I am involved with a dog charity so it made sense.

I was going to do a course, but then decided to do the City and Guilds exam. It was quite challenging, quite hard work, but I had a great time and I can keep practising on my two cockapoos and the dogs at the charity. It's something I find really enjoyable and completely different to everything else I do.

The show will perform at the New Alexandra Theatre, in Birmingham from Tuesday, September 19 until Saturday, September 23. Call 0844 871 3011 or visit www.atgtickets.com/shows/tango-moderno/new-alexandra-theatre-birmingham/ for tickets; Theatre Royal, Nottingham, from Tuesday, January 23 until Saturday, January 27. Call 0115 989 5555 or visit trch.co.uk/whats-on/tango-moderno/ for tickets, and the Regent Theatre, in Stoke, on Friday, March 9 and Saturday, March 10. Call 0844 871 7649 or visit www.atgtickets.com/shows/tango-moderno/regent-theatre/ for tickets

For full tour dates go to www.tangomoderno.com

Looking for a job? There are thousands available at www.Fish4.co.uk