KIMBERLEY WALSH

TAKING CENTRE STAGE AGAIN AFTER 'STRICTLY
KIMBERLEY WALSH
ON SPENDING TIME WITH HER MAN AND
HAVING FUN WITH THE GIRLS

Kimberley Walsh is looking pretty amazing for a woman who has been rushed off her feet. She came joint second in the latest series of Strictly Come Dancing and is hard at work rehearsing for

the hotly anticipated Girls Aloud reunion tour. And if thaT isn't enough excitement for the singer, she has also managed to find time to work on her debut solo album, Centre Stage.

"It has been mad, I'm not going to pretend," Kimberley Walsh laughs when we catch up with her for an exclusive chat in a central London hotel. Kimberley Walsh flawless complexion is tanned and glowing following a recent holiday in Barbados, where she was able to recharge her batteries alter an action-packed end to 2012. "I was so lazy out there," Kimberley Walsh says. "My family were saying, 'No, stay there, we'll get you what you need.' They didn't want me to do anything, they

were just trying to feed me up."

Kimberley Walsh has been looking pretty svelte of late. Unsurprisingly, the gruelling dancing schedule that comes hand in hand with Strictly has had an effect on the curvy singer's figure-and Kimberley Walsh looked more toned than ever in snaps from her holiday.

"I don't know about that," Kimberley Walsh says modestly. "[Toning up] really is a benefit of Strictly. Also, those pictures were" taken near the beginning of the holiday. 1 hadn't eaten too much rice and peas at that point!"

While in the Caribbean, Kimberley Walsh didn't just take the opportunity to show off her newly honed bikini body. The 31-year-old Kimberley Walsh says it was a real treat to spend quality time with her boyfriend of nine years, Justin Scott.

"Justin knows that with things like this, they're really intense for a short time then he gets me

back. So it's fine," she says. "He was the only person I did see, really. Even though I was working

stupid hours, at least I came back to him at night. My friends and family popped down to rehearsals

now and again but that was all. You feel bad because you're aware you're indulging yourself

and are unable to be around for everyone. But they enjoyed it and were all really supportive.''

SPECTACULAR

However, with the Girls Aloud tour looming large - the band kick off their nationwide extravaganza

in Newcastle on 21 February - there's more hard work ahead for Kimberley Walsh. "It sounds really big-headed but this tour is going to be amazing," says the singer, Kimberley Walsh,  lighting up when she talks about being reunited with Cheryl Cole, Nicola Roberts, Sarah Harding and Nadine Coyle. "We had a big meeting the other night and since then I've been beside myself with excitement because we've seen the final sketches of the stage and our outfits. It's going to be quite a spectacle."

Kimberley Walsh claps her hands in excitement. "And it feels so easy! You get used to having the pressure on your own, so when you're back with everyone you're like, 'God, this is a breeze.' I only have to do a few lines here and there and just enjoy it."

Kimberley insists that failing to take the Strictly glitterball trophy before Christmas doesn't bother

her. Kimberley Walsh and her dance partner Pasha Kovalev were joint runners-up with Denise Van Omen and James Jordan, behind gymnast Louis Smith and Flavia Cacace.

"I thought I would he disappointed not to win because it was so close. And on the night, we could

feel it. But it was weird - I kind of fell all right alxmi it. I thought I'd gel more competitive as the

weeks went on but I was competitive with myself lather than with the- others."

The experience was made extra special for Kimberley because she shared it with Denise, 38, with whom she became firm friends when they climbed Mount Kilimanjaro for Comic Relief in 2009. "Denise and I went through the whole [Strictly] thing together. We were constantly on die phone saying, 'Are you all right? How are your injuries?' So it was fitting that we started together and finished together. Neither of us felt we deserved to win over each other, so it was nice to be even Stevens. The one thing we didn't want was to dance off against each other. It would have

been horrific. We were so happy that we got to the end without having to do that.

"Obviously, we have now gone through two massively challenging experiences together -

Kilimanjaro and Strictly, They're probably the two hardest things I've ever done. We've definitely got a bond for life there."

So is Kimberley Walsh missing the show?

"Like a psycho," Kimberley Walsh says. "Towards the end, although I was still loving it, I was having to heave myself up off the couch. I was like. 'I'm dead!' but it's kind of addictive."

INTERVIEW FOR HELLO ALEXARDRA WILBY