Twinkle Toes Black

IT takes about 15 minutes for someone to notice him.

Tucked away in a corner of a hotel lobby, you don't expect to see one of Britain's favourite sportsmen and a face familiar to millions of Saturday night television viewers sat quietly sipping on a latte.

Businessmen, ladies of leisure and other clientele come and go, a few glancing back as if to acknowledge they recognise him.

But the reactions of two women, who could only be politely described as being 'of a certain age' lets you know loud and proud that ladies and gentlemen, Roger Black has become something of a celeb.

"That's got nothing to do with athletics," he says almost proudly having stopped himself mid-sentence to comment on the increasingly common incident, "it's all about Saturday night, which is quite funny."

The women make no secret of the fact they are talking about him, looking over to where we are sat and clearly excited about him being there.

They stop short of approaching him and asking for an autograph but for Roger, it is a case of point proven.

The athlete, formerly known as Bambi, is now making a name for himself as Twinkle Toes and he couldn't be happier about it.

Roger Black is currently involved in one of the biggest Saturday night ratings battles since Noel Edmonds stuck a pin in Mr Blobby and said goodbye to Crinkly Bottom.

The BBC and ITV have sent out the big hitters this autumn and both have genuine potential TV gold on their hands.

In the orange corner we have the second series of the Beeb's Strictly Come Dancing, complete with an abundance of fake tan, feather boas and the obligatory acerbic judges.

And in the blue corner, we have Cowell v Osbourne, otherwise known as ITV's The X Factor.

Every Sunday morning the redtops are full of who kicked whose ratings backside the previous evening while salacious gossip involving both shows' various contestants/hosts/judges litter their pages.

Strictly, as it will from hereon be known, is frequently edging its powder-puffed nose ahead.

Nearly ten million people are regularly tuning in to see Bruce Forsyth and last series' victor Natasha Kaplinsky beam their pearly white smiles and invite Strictly's intrepid celebrities on to the dance floor.

Whether the judging pantomime that The X Factor has arguably become has got too much for some viewers and they have switched allegiance midway through the series is open to debate.

But Roger, who admits to liking ITV's rival show, has his own views as to why ballroom dancing is back with a vengeance in the great British psyche.

"People like to see celebrities doing things. But I think the main factor is it's a totally family show. The whole family can sit round and watch Strictly Come Dancing but that's not the case with The X Factor.

"When I've been out and about the difference in people's reactions has been amazing. I was well-known anyway but it's kids now that are saying hello.

"They see us all dressed up in our tails and dresses and they love it but grandparents love it too. Plus it's a proper competition and I think people realise how much we're all putting into it."

Roger is certainly putting everything into it.

When we meet he is on his way to Heathrow to fly to Bradford where he will conduct a motivational talk to a group of corporate businessmen, a venture that now takes up the majority of his time.

After speaking in Bradford he is scheduled to travel to Blackpool where he will meet dance partner Camilla Dallerup and practise for Saturday's show.

It is Thursday and the pair have spent just five hours previous to our meeting practising this week's dances.

Roger is clearly bothered by their lack of preparation.

"I knew I'd be up against it when they asked me to do it but it's been tough. You want to train as much as you possibly can because you don't want to make a complete fool of yourself."

Preparation has been Roger's buzzword throughout his entire career.

Ever since breaking on to the international scene as a lanky 18-year-old in 1984, the Portsmouth born Team Solent runner became the darling of the British athletics set, the face that fronted the halcyon days of British track and field in the 1990s.

Two European Championship 400m individual golds, individual Commonwealth champion and an astonishing World Championship 4x400m relay gold in 1991 preceded what proved to be his career highlight five years later at the Atlanta Olympics.

With American legend Michael Johnson on home soil and in devastating form, as expected no one could touch the man in the golden spikes but silver was very much up for grabs.

And aged 30, having battled back from illness and injury more times than he could count on both hands, Roger grabbed it.

Folklore suggests nobody remembers who finishes second - Roger changed that.

That level of success does not come accidentally.

"What ultimately made me the athlete I was, was this character trait that I never had to be the best, and I wasn't driven by being the best.

"I was driven by being able to look back at whatever I did and say I gave it my best so I never had the 'what ifs'. That's the same with everything I do in my life."

It is a philosophy that has stood him in good stead for Strictly - once a competitor always a competitor.

"I've never said I have to win it, and I know there are people who want to win it more than I do.

"But it's crass to say you wouldn't like to win it because we're all putting in the hours and once you're in it you might as well give it your best.

"The key moment is when you're standing in the wings about to go out to dance and they're showing the video of you training.

"That minute and a half is like waiting for the gun to go so I use mental techniques I used as an athlete to help me perform."

Roger is obviously proud of what he has achieved so far with Dallerup and the speed and tone of his voice alter as he describes the frustration he has experienced learning new skills and his excitement at "getting away with it" on live television.

He says he is "knackered," although it is difficult to admit to him that he actually remains almost annoyingly fresh-faced.

Despite his protests, there is little evidence of the black bags he insists are located under the blue eyes that have won him a legion of female admirers throughout his career.

He is immaculate in his appearance. Dark navy pinstriped suit, light blue shirt open at the collar and the same timeless haircut he has sported for years. He is 38 going on 30.

Handsome, charismatic and intelligent - he won a place to study medicine at Southampton University before the athletics bug bit him - it would be easy to accuse Roger of being smug.

But he is charming, considerate.

He had earlier rung me to apologise for running late because he said he knew I'd be looking around for him, worried our interview time was ticking away.

And although some of the statements he makes could be construed as arrogant when printed in black and white - "I was blessed with a very natural talent" - that would be a misconception.

He speaks with the confidence of someone who has achieved and is not ashamed to admit it. If there is a fine line between arrogance and self-belief, he has managed to stay on the right side.

There is a refreshing honesty about him and occasionally a glimmer of vulnerability.

Roger has had his knocks, both professionally and personally, he has just somehow managed to pick himself up from them and use them as a learning experience.

His professional standing suffered a blow this year when after fronting BBC Sport's athletics coverage since his retirement in 1998, Roger was dropped from their Athens Olympics presenting team.

He admits it was "a kick in the teeth" and is still not sure of the reasons behind the decision, although he was assured it was not his ability as a presenter.

But you know what they say about every cloud and silver linings, the producers of Strictly came calling and Roger had an instant tonic.

"I thought about it because of my schedule, I make my living from corporate speaking plus I was also presenting City Hospital meaning I was getting up at 5am.

"But I'd had a real setback in my TV career losing my contract with BBC

Sport and I thought who am I to turn this down? The mentality of the athlete is you're given a challenge and you take it on."

It is not a decision he regrets. Even scrapping around trying to find somewhere to practise with Camilla - his deputy head brother-in-law's school hall in Guildford often taking the strain - is a buzz.

Having spent 14 years ensconced in the mindset of being an individual athlete, he reveals he is, "completely 100 per cent reliant on Camilla", putting his trust in her and "completely assuming she will always get it 100 per cent right."

As if on cue, Camilla phones to discuss their schedules for the following week.

They chat easily and he later admits he has a lot of admiration for the way she has bounced back from tabloid revelations about her private life.

During the first series Dallerup and her fiance and then dancing partner Brendan Cole ended their eight-year relationship.

Roger is no stranger to personal heartache himself after his first marriage to French national athlete Elsa Vassoigne ended in divorce in 2001.

He has since remarried, describing his wife Julia, or "Jules" as he affectionately refers to her, as his soulmate and "the woman my first wife always said I should've been with!"

Roger will be spending Christmas at home in Guildford with Julia while his four-year-old daughter Isabelle from his marriage to Elsa will be flying over from the Caribbean island of Martinique where she lives with her mother to spend time with the couple. He admits he would like to have children with Julia but at the moment their marriage comes first.

Providing he successfully dances his way through the next two weeks, the Strictly final takes place on Saturday, December 11 while a Christmas special is also planned.

If he does not make it through he has got plenty to keep him busy though, his motivational speaking business taking him all over the world.

He would love to resurrect his career as a sports presenter and although not missing athletics at the moment he believes he will end up coaching in some capacity in the future.

Roger will also be throwing his weight behind London's 2012 Olympic bid.

"The problem with this country is we don't just go for things or we do them half-heartedly but if we get the Games we will make it work.

"It would great for the nation, it would leave a legacy and all the infrastructure but from a sporting perspective I'd love to see the Games here if only because for kids growing up over the next ten years it would be fantastic.

"There's an enormous amount of talent out there that never gets discovered but if you know there's an Olympics round the corner, you're going to do sport and that's got to be of benefit to this country."

But for the time being Twinkle Toes has a nation - and his initially sceptical mates - to wow with his fancy new dance steps.

"I have never danced before so I'm doing something that's a totally new challenge. I consider myself very fortunate to have been asked.

"I'm not in it to win it I'm in it to be able to walk away saying I had a great time but I also did as well as I could have done."

You cannot help but believe him.