We bestow them with celebrity status, lap up details of their private lives and often expect them to behave in prescribed ways. But an entertainer’s role has always been to wander the land entertaining the masses.

A role embodied in full effect by Strictly Come Dancing 2014 champion Pasha Kovalev, who’s passion for dance has taken him from his native Serbia to Russia, America and now England – where he has just embarked on an astounding 79-date tour which comes to Edmonton and Harlow next week.

“I have been a gypsy all my life, I don’t think about settling down,“ explains the 35-year-old who is currently living in Notting Hill and dating his Strictly season 11 partner Rachel Riley.

“I don’t think anything in life is under our control anyway. Things come your way and you have a choice of making it or not taking it.“

Pasha, whose real name is Pavel, started dancing when he was eight and he soon realised he couldn’t live without it. He moved to the US in 2001, when he turned professional, and started touring the US, Canada and UK in 2002, and has featured in dance productions on Broadway and the West End, such as Burn the Floor, and programmes such as So You Think You Can Dance in the US, before joining the line-up on Strictly Come Dancing in 2011.

“None of those moves were pre-planned or even thought of before it happened,“ he says.

“Nobody knows anything – I’m just OK with it. Some people try to pretend they have control over reality, but you don’t know what’s going to happen tonight.“

He adds: “In dance you don’t have to predict anything, you just express what you feel inside and that’s enough to become a good dancer and inspire an audience.“

That said he has spent weeks planning his new tour Life Through Dance, in which he will reunite with his former professional dance partner Anya Garnis for the first time in ten years.

“I’m doing everything myself. It’s produced, choreographed and directed by me.

“It’s a lot of dates and a lot of them are sold out already, definitely winning Strictly helped a little bit.“

But Pasha shies away from being labelled a celebrity, spending his time off jetting abroad for some sunshine or taking Countdown co-presenter Rachel salsa dancing.

He didn’t reunite with his winning Strictly partner Caroline Flack for the live tour saying “unfortunately it didn’t happen – there’s nothing I can do about that“, but adds: “I would love to be in the next series of Strictly but producers don’t start talking to us until late spring, so I’m a free agent for now.“

His style of teaching on the BBC show is “more on the strict side“ and he has a no nonsense attitude to talk of a ’Strictly curse’ on relationships.

“Every office has something going on and I guess because Strictly is such a big show with everybody on display all the time it gets magnified and blown out of proportion.

“People fall in love and break up all the time – you see it in your friends and family – and I’m sure it’s the same thing."

He adds: “In Strictly most of the time you focus on what lies ahead and not the intimate part. It happens obviously – there are examples – but that’s not the rule it’s more like exceptions.“

The chocolate lover who struggles to keep weight on when he is dancing is looking forward to being away from the cameras and showing live audiences the full range of his talent.

“When you create a show like this you can express yourself in a completely different way than you can on Strictly – which can be a little limiting.

“I wanted to explore the everyday events we encounter, like meeting people, falling in love, forming friendships and relationships, hardship in relationships and dance is the perfect medium to do so because each dance represents an emotion or character.“

He adds: “I want people to come out recharged with some positive energy growing inside of them.“

Pasha’s shows in Edmonton and Harlow are now sold out. For more tour dates visit pashakovalev.co.uk