YOU will not be seeing Brendan Cole on Strictly Come Dancing next winter after his axing by the BBC, but the New Zealander will be on stage at York Barbican on Wednesday in his latest dance show, All Night Long.

Cole had been one of only two professional dancers – Anton Du Beke is the other – to have taken part in every Strictly series since 2004, when he won the inaugural competition with news anchor Natasha Kaplinsky. He has since mentored the likes of Kelly Brook; Lisa Snowdon; Jo Wood; Victoria Pendleton, Kirsty Gallacher; Sophie Ellis-Bextor; Anastacia and, last year, Good Morning Britain's Charlotte Hawkins.

His contract has not been renewed for 2018 after 14 years on the BBC1 show, with Cole speculating that his strong views on the judges may have contributed to the decision.

All this kerfuffle has happened since Cole spoke to The Press to preview his second set of All Night Long dates, his tenth annual tour after Live & Unjudged in 2010 to 2012; Licence To Thrill, 2013 and 2014, A Night To Remember, 2015 and 2016 and the first run of All Night Long shows in 2017.

The show is created, choreographed and hosted by Cole, 41, who takes audiences on a journey through dance, music, comedy, passion, intimacy and all things ballroom when joined by championship dancers, musical director Barry Robinson, his band and singers. Expect songs by music legends and contemporary artists combined with such dances as the Tango, Paso Doble, Foxtrot and Waltz.

York Press:

"All Night Long makes you want to have a bloomin' good time - and we do have an absolute ball," says Brendan Cole

"It's people that make the live shows special for me: an audience can make or break a show," says Cole. "Some of the southern venues can be a little reserved but northern audiences, like York, really love it."

All Night Long returned to the road on January 18 but has it changed since last year's dates? "Occasionally, we'll tweak a show here or there, but generally we run each production over the two years in the form we created it as there are so many venues we want to play," says Cole.

"We'll do between 100 and 115 performances, and this is a massive show with a big budget: we have 21 people on stage, with 11 in the band, eight dancers and two singers, Iain MacKenzie and Jenna-Lee James.

"It takes a year and and a half to put each show together and my finger tips are on all parts of it. I don't just turn up and perform! I want to make sure every dancer is right for the show in terms of camaraderie and chemistry.

"Finding the right person is key and the ensemble cast is important to the show: I want them to be of world-class calibre, rather than the audience waiting for me to come back on stage, though hopefully they will be! My musicians are top class too, having played with Michael Bublé and Tom Jones."

In choosing the show's title, Cole wanted to evoke a party atmosphere. "All Night Long makes you want to have a bloomin' good time - and we do have an absolute ball," he says. "We want the audience to feel that way too!"

One of the most challenging aspects of a show is picking the songs. "So far, I feel I've got that right, with each show being better than the last," says Cole. "So far we're going strong and getting stronger.

"We try to work out what'll be right, with Barry and my lovely wife Sophie, and ultimately it's got to be right for me, getting the right mix: a bit of old, a bit of new and a bit of in between - and working out what props I need for each routine and can I get from A to B for the next number?"

Looking back on what has turned out to be his last year on Strictly, Cole says Charlotte Hawkins was a "delightful" partner. "It was a little short lived; we would have liked to have been in for more weeks, but in terms of the series I had a ball," he says.

"Sometimes you don't get on with your partnee, and that's the nature of the beast, but Charlotte was a joy."

York Press:

Strictly Come Dancing 2017 finalist Debbie McGee in her Grand Opera House pantomime role as Adorabella Marigold Angelpie in York

As for 2017 Strictly finalist Debbie McGee, who went on to star in York as the fairy Adorabella Marigold Angelpie in the Grand Opera House pantomime Beauty And The Beast, Cole says: "The thing about Debbie is her attention to detail is magnificent. She really wants each routine to be the best it can be.

"She thinks like a dancer at all times, and it's a no-brainer she's going to be good, but she wants to be better than good every time, and I have to say her Argentine Tango was one of the best ever dances on the show."

Brendan Cole in All Night Long, York Barbican, Wednesday, 7.30pm; Harrogate Convention Centre, March 2, 7.30pm. Box office: York, 0844 854 2757 or yorkbarbican.co.uk; Harrogate, 01423 502116 or harrogatetheatre.co.uk