Strictly Come Dancing 2012: Will the Olympic medallists Victoria Pendleton and Louis Smith win Strictly? It's a similar story with Louis Smith. It's pronounced Lewis, like the detective. The double medal-winning gymnast looked slick with his side-parting, braces and bow tie, before performing backflips that had the crowd on their feet. Does his gymnastic background give him an advantage? Maybe in terms of my mindset - working hard and paying attention to detail. But the technicalities are hard to master and there's a lot of movers in the camp, so it's going to be very close. The two athletes were only rivalled in the crowd roar stakes by Ball "n" Hall: TV veteran Johnny Ball and former model Jerry Hall; "Johnny Ballroom" and "Jerry Dance Hall" as they've been nicknamed. Ball is a jester with a twinkle in his eye and, at 74, the oldest ever Strictly contestant. "I got taught the minuet at school, that's how old I am," he says. The Dashing White Sergeant was all the rage in my day. Meanwhile, the stately Hall delivers laconic replies in her Texan drawl. "My ideal partner would be tall, handsome and have lots of stamina," purrs the 56-year-old. "I'm looking forward to seeing Jerry and those legs," adds new judge Darcey Bussell. They're proper dance legs. Asking around all 14 celebrities, though, one other name keeps cropping up as a potential winner: Denise van Outen. Not only has she starred in West End musicals but she's also been a judge on Andrew Lloyd Webber's talent searches. "Denise has that professional finish that dancers have," says her rival Lisa Riley, the former Emmerdale actress. She's fab. "God, it's so much pressure," says van Outen. I've never done a proper dancing role, so I'm learning a new skill like everyone else. I've only been training for a week and my feet are in a right state. Blisters everywhere and I've lost a toenail. Viewers, please don't peer at my feet too closely on Saturday. The two pop stars - Kimberley Walsh of Girls Aloud and Westlife's Nicky Byrne - look strong, too. They're both confident performers who come with a fanbase. "I feel there's an expectation for me to do well," says Walsh, who performed a tap-dance number as part of her recent West End role in Shrek the Musical. I'm going to have to raise my game because they're going to pick me up on technical details. But will anyone be able to halt another triumphant Team GB march to glory? Could the London 2012 legacy include that garish glitterball trophy? We'll get our first clues tomorrow. As Sir Brucey and Tess Daly say: "Staaaaart dancing." Strictly Come Dancing: 2012 Premiere is on BBC One on Saturday 15 September at 6.30pm