Not only is Pasha Kovalev a winner on the dancefloor, the reigning Strictly Come Dancing champion is also seemingly a winner in love, after revealing several months ago that he’d begun dating his 2013 Strictly partner, Countdown’s Rachel Riley.

But true gent Pasha likes to keep his private life that way and Rachel’s not his only leading lady anyway.

In the new live show he’s now touring, Life Through Dance, he reunites with long-standing dance partner Anya Garnis, star of So You Think You Can Dance USA and Dancing with the Stars, as the 35-year-old Siberian told What’s On.

Congratulations on winning the last series of Strictly. Did you have a feeling that Caroline Flack could go all the way to the title?

“Right from the beginning I knew she had the potential to be a good dancer. We were in the middle of the leader board and we were just trying to get through the dance at one point and towards the end we started realising that connection which each dance requires to make it special and that personality and emotion. Things started getting connected in Caroline’s head or heart. Even then, the competition was so close. We were happy to be in the final but didn’t know anything for sure.”

Which dance do you credit as Caroline’s first ‘eureka!’ moment?

“It was coming a little bit in each and every dance. The rumba, to I Don’t Want To Miss A Thing by Aerosmith, was the first time I felt that she totally connected to the dance. From there it was trying to improve. Every dance has a completely new story.”

You’ve come so close to the title previously, coming runner-up with both Kimberley Walsh and Chelsee Healey – how did it feel to clinch it?

“At first I couldn’t believe it. For a split second when they announced our names, I thought, ‘Is that runner-up again?’ but I was surprised by myself and Caroline. It becomes a genuine friendship. You spend so much time together and talk about everything about one another, plus you have a common goal. Hopefully, we’re friends for life. I keep in touch with all of my previous partners, Kimberley and Rachel (Riley) especially.”

Life Through Dance features female dancer Anya Garnis, who is a long-standing dance partner of yours?

“Anya is my professional partner of 13 years. We started out on TV together and Broadway and toured with Burn The Floor. It’s exciting to get back into that partnership. We have a good bond together and know one another like the back of our hands.”

What have you brought of your life experience into the show Life Through Dance?

“It’s a show orientated for the entire family, a bit of digging deep into everyday events we encounter in our life; meeting people, falling in love, relationships. It’s perfect to use the language of dance to express these emotions. We’ll go from classic to modern pieces; tango, foxtrot, cha chas, paso dobles, I bring in an audience participation section... it’s two hours of entertainment, people get lost in it and travel to a completely different world.”

Life Through Dance, Pasha Kovalev’s new dance show, is next at the Assembly Hall Theatre in Tunbridge Wells on Wednesday, May 27, at 7.30pm. Tickets cost £23. Visit www.assemblyhalltheatre.co.uk or call 01892 530613.