It’s a busy time for the boys from Strictly Come Dancing.

They have been involved in the massively successful nationwide arena tour in which seven of the 2018 TV show’s leading celebrities – Stacey Dooley, Joe Sugg, Ashley Roberts and Faye Tozer among them – have criss-crossed the UK partnered by their professional dancers.

Then there are various spin-off tours for individual dancers and a second 35-date tour featuring the professionals, both male and female, which started earlier this month.

But it’s hard to imagine how anyone could be more excited about the prospect of performing the length and breadth of the land than Aljaž Škorjanec, Giovanni Pernice and Gorka Marquez.

The dynamic trio pool their collective talents and hit the road in a brand new 38-date show, Here Come The Boys which kicks-off its run in Carlisle on June 15.

The boys are promising a sizzling evening and are determined to make it a spectacular start to the tour.

The show is set in a club and the challenge is to judge who’s the best as they go head-to-head, squaring up to each other every night in Latin, ballroom, commercial and contemporary routines to tracks from the likes of JLo, Bruno Mars and Gloria Estefan as well as a collection of dance club anthems.

It’s up to the audience to decide who is the champion. And you can expect some fierce competition between the three friends.

Also on stage will be a percussionist and a flamenco guitarist with live vocals from former Clean Bandit star Elizabeth Troy.

The fast-moving show will be directed and choreographed by Gareth Walker with the assistance of Janette Manrara - aka Mrs Aljaz.

“Technically, she’s your boss on this one,” says Giovanni.

But Aljaz disagrees: “No, she’s always my boss.

“We’re so used to working together on Strictly, choreographing together.

“She’s really good with concepts and ideas; I’m good with making the steps work. Truly, it’s always felt like being in harmony, never like doing battle.”

What about the demands of touring? “Well, we’re all fit,” says Gorka.

“And this is our job. Yes, you can wake up each morning and then remember you’ve got to travel however many miles to get to the next venue.

“But it’s the show, the audience that gives you the impetus. We simply love performing in front of the people who watch the TV show. There’s such a buzz about a live audience.”

And if you like what you do, says Alajz, it doesn’t feel like a job.

“Seeing happy faces out there for two hours at every show makes it worth it,” he explains.

“When we’re performing on Strictly, you don’t see the much smaller studio crowd in quite the same way. But a tour puts you directly in touch with the fans.”

n Here Come The Boys, The Sands Centre, June 15. For tickets, go to www.thesandscentre.co.uk or call 01228 633766