Why Strictly star chose dancing over football

As the son of a much-loved footballer, Strictly Come Dancing star Kai Widdrington seemed destined to follow in his father's footsteps.

The professional dancer lived in Trentham, Stoke-on-Trent, for much of his childhood as his dad Tommy Widdrington, Aldershot Town FC's current manager, played for Port Vale FC.

During his time in the city, Widdrington (Kai) joined the club's academy and said he wanted to be a "star footballer" just like his dad.

But that trajectory changed when his parents decided their son, who admitted to being a "hyperactive" youngster, needed another outlet.

Widdrington told BBC Radio Stoke he lived next door to some ballroom dance teachers and he joined their class, but it took a while for him to fall in love with it.

He said: "I really didn't like it that much, until they got me a partner and we started doing competitions, so there was a competitive side to it."

That competitive drive overcame any potential inhibitions he might have felt about performing while "wearing sparkles or Cuban heels".

"I needed to do what I needed to do to win. It was about winning for me," he explained.

Widdrington said the "lightbulb" moment came when he was listening to his dad's music on the way to football practice and would think about the dances that went with each song.

"I just loved it that bit more than more football, although I had a really promising football career ahead of me as a teenager," he added.

After the family moved back to Southampton, where he was born, Widdrington played alongside future Premier League stars, including Luke Shaw and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain.

But he gave up a potential future place at Southampton FC, choosing instead to pursue a career as a professional dancer.

Widdrington said he remembered his time in Stoke-on-Trent with affection, having lived there through his primary school years.

"I have fond memories of being in Stoke," he said. "It was so much fun. I had great friends and had a really great childhood growing up there."

Widdrington is currently touring his dance show, Evolution, and will return to Strictly Come Dancing later in the year for his fifth season as a professional dancer.

Of his time on the BBC show, he said: "It is life-changing but especially as a British lad growing up in Stoke-on-Trent.

"It's a real full-circle moment for me," he added.