THEY are two of the most popular professional dancers to have appeared on Strictly Come Dancing.

Now Ian Waite and Vincent Simone are joining forces as The Ballroom Boys and they are heading to Burnley Mechanics on Saturday.

At well over six feet tall, Ian will tower over his colleague, the diminutive Italian.

“The whole height difference thing will make us a little bit like Little and Large but I love all that,” said Ian, who finished third on Strictly when he was paired with celebrity Zoe Ball and now regularly appears on her Strictly spin off show, It Takes Two.

There are a number of touring shows featuring Strictly professionals but it’s not just the difference in height between the two leading men that will make The Ballroom Boys different.

“Ours is more of a variety show than just a dance show,” said Ian. “The audience won’t be sitting there for two hours just watching dancing. There’s going to be lots of different stuff. We’ll be donning the top hat and tails to take them back to the Golden Age of Hollywood and then there will be the vibrant Latin numbers which Vincent is renowned for. But we’ll also be getting audience members up on stage for a bit of audience participation. And we’ll be taking time to chat to people, sharing stories of our time on Strictly.”

At the heart of the show will be the undisputed chemistry between Ian and Vincent.

“I’ve known Vincent for many years,” said Ian. “We used to compete against each other back in the day and we’ve always had a lot of banter and a lot of fun.

“We want to bring that into the show. People think I’m funny but he’s the funniest person I know.

“Vincent has done a number of shows with his partner Flavia Cacace which were brilliant but he never got the chance to speak during any of them. I know I could be unleashing a monster with this show because he really does love an audience, but I know it’ll be great.”

Ian and Vincent have worked hard on putting together every element of The Ballroom Boys. For the tour they are being joined by other professional dancers meaning the routines will be spectacular.

“What has been delightful for me and Vince has been chatting about what to put in it,” said Ian.

“What we have arrived at is a culmination of 30 years of our favourite stuff, our funniest stories and our most embarrassing moments on Strictly all mixed in.

“I’ve also been really excited to work with Vince as he’s one of best choreographers to have ever been on Strictly so to be working with him a dream come true. We have choreographed some of the numbers together and then we have got solo dances which we have worked on individually. But the whole creative process becomes really easy when you have someone like Vince.”

Ian believes the show will give fans the chance to get to know more about him and Vincent.

“When you’re on TV you don’t have the time to see different sides of the professional’s personalities,” he said. “Even when I’m doing It Takes Two, I’m there primarily to critique the routines and to talk about how couples have performed on Strictly that weekend.

With Vincent, both of us will get the chance to be ourselves and I just know it’s going to be fun.

“It’s a bit old school with two old pals going on the road together.”

The Ballroom Boys, Burnley Mechanics, Saturday, June 29. Details from 01282 664400 or www.burnleymechanics.co.uk