The actor also tells Prima about her upcoming ITV series Secret Service and her everlasting friendship with her Strictly Come Dancing partner Johannes Radebe

 

 

Alex Kingston has revealed the profound power of sharing her cancer diagnosis on Strictly Come Dancing, as well as the live show moment she didn’t see coming. Plus, spilling the details on her new ITV political thriller Secret Service, this month’s Prima cover interview is one you won’t want to miss.

Reflecting on her ‘life altering’ Strictly Come Dancing journey, the Prima cover star says she is incredibly pleased with her performance on the show, “I feel super proud of what I did because I achieved everything I set out to achieve. I wanted to prove that, irrespective of what you might have been through medically, if you have the right attitude you can just pick up and continue,” says Alex.

Explaining her initial decision to keep her diagnosis quiet, the 62-year-old says she is now glad she changed her mind, “I’m quite a private person and I felt, ‘Why should I talk about my cancer?’ and also on Strictly, I thought ‘I don’t want my journey to be about my sickness’. I wanted it to be about going forward and life affirmation. But then I realised when I started to get responses from people, actually, this is important. If nothing else, it’s important to encourage people that if their body is behaving in a slightly unusual way… to go and have it checked. So I feel now that it was a good thing that I opened up about it.”

One of the biggest supporters of Alex during her journey on the show was Strictly professional Johannes Radebe.“JoJo is going to be in my life forever. We really did connect and I always wanted him to be my dance partner because I just loved watching how he danced. What I didn’t realise was how similar we are in personality and it was such a special relationship. Starting from zero when you don’t know anybody at all and going through something where you are so intimate immediately… Sometimes it’s not natural, but JoJo and I were absolutely a natural fit.”

Of course, her time on Strictly wasn’t always full of positives, including judge Craig Revel Horwood’s comments on her Halloween routine to ‘Horny’ “I wasn’t fully aware of the scathing critique that Craig had given me about looking like a woman who is having a midlife crisis…It was a little bit mean spirited for Craig to say that and also I just felt like it’s exactly the opposite of what I’m trying to advocate. It’s like, no, if you want to dance and swing a devil’s tail around and you’re in your 90s, do it. I mean, this is your life. So live it!”

Now looking forward to her post-Strictly future, Alex is excited for her return to TV as part of ITV’s Secret Service, a new political thriller lead by Gemma Arterton. “I loved the scenes that I had with Gemma. She reminded me that one of her very first jobs after leaving drama school, was an ITV show called Lost in Austen which I was in. Apparently I was very nice to her and told her not to worry that it was her first job. And look at her now, it’s amazing!”

Elsewhere in the April issue you can find the lazy guide to feeling better, Christine Lampard’s best beauty secrets and golden tips for gardening from none other than Mary Berry. Plus, for the crafters, you’ll find a festive pattern for Erin the Easter Rabbit.

On sale now.

Alex wears: Suit – The Fold, Blouse – Holland & Cooper, Earrings – Maudella

 

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