Strictly's Toyah Willcox reveals the body transformation that has left her husband 'very upset'

The punk singer says the ballroom rehearsals have had a very unexpected effect

Strictly Come Dancing contestant Toyah Willcox says that six hours of dance training every day has made her bust disappear - much to her husband’s dismay. But the pop star, 66, also reports that all her aches and pains have vanished and she has also lost half a stone thanks to the intensive sessions with professional partner Neil Jones.

The bookies placed her as one of the favourites for the boot ever since her tango last weekend drew just 12 points from the judges. Now Toyah admits she will “cry for a week” when she gets voted off. The punk singer said her 78-year-old husband Robert Fripp, formerly of King Crimson, had been shocked by her weight loss. “I’ve already lost at least half a stone. I just can’t eat enough to keep the weight on,” she explained. “He’s very upset about my top half disappearing. And it has completely disappeared.”

That said, she reckons all the exercise has taken years off her. “I feel how I felt when I was 25. It’s this thing ‘use it or lose it’. I came into this show with quite a lot of aches and pains and they’ve gone. It’s astounding how regular exercise and happiness can change the whole of your physiology. It’s incredible. I feel great. I’m flat-chested, but I feel great.”

Toyah said that, in truth, her husband is enjoying the experience almost as much as she is, even though it means he is living by himself for much of the week while she stays in London to cram in as much training as possible. “He’s cooking for himself which is a major achievement in 38 years of marriage,” she laughed. “He’s loving being part of it. He loves the costumes, he loves the music. He’s really happy that I’ve got a really great partner and he’s fallen in love with the show which he didn’t think he would.”

Although she misses Robert, Toyah is desperate to stay in the competition with Neil. “I’m not ready to go home, I’m loving every minute. My husband is 78 and every second of time with him is very, very precious but he knows that I’m loving this and he’s been generous enough to let me be here without making any demands on me whatsoever.”

She said getting voted off will be devastating. “I will honestly have to adjust to not being in this incredible experience if I go out. We have a very secret place we go to in the UK, which is by the sea, and I will probably go there and cry for a week and then get back to my normal life.”

But she’s hoping that her jive last night will curry enough favour with the viewers to keep her in a bit longer. “This is everything I’ve ever wanted in life - I’m at Elstree, I’m in the most amazing programme, I’m with Neil. I’m having the party of my life. I just don’t want to go back and cook!”

Neil, 42, said he was thoroughly enjoying working with Toyah. “She finds joy in everything,” he marvelled. "We’ll go down to costume and she’s putting on her outfit and telling them ‘this is the most beautiful dress, you’re a genius, I love you all’. Everywhere she walks they see how much love she has for this show. If they put the lights on she’ll go ‘oh my god these lights are amazing.’ It just makes me smile that she finds the joy in every ounce of her life.”

Having been likened to a springbok by head judge Shirley Ballas last week, she joked she’d intended to be a “cougar” with Neil for her jive. “Or a milf,” she quipped. She said that the harsh comments she’s received from the judges, particularly Shirley and Craig Revel Horwood who each gave her 2 points the first week, made her feel as though she was dancing “in front of the firing squad”. Despite this, she hasn’t been put off. “We are not the show, the show is the show, this is entertainment and it’s not about the individual at all.

“So I’ll take it on the chin, whatever they say. I know I’m doing my best. I’m not going to try and be smart about it, I just literally want to try and improve and stay in the game.” And showing her trademark positivity Toyah added: “It’s probably better to get a really startling bad review than it is to get a golden review, especially off Craig, because he makes everything so famous and memorable so perhaps we can become the people he really goes for.”

Strictly Come Dancing airs tonight at 6.15pm on BBC1 and BBC iPlayer

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