There's no time for Darcey Bussell to put her wellworn feet up after a stellar career. Roz Laws talks to a woman whose enthusiasm still burns bright.

The second thing I notice about Darcey Bussell is her nails.

The first is just how tiny she is - not in height, as at five foot nine she's tall for a ballerina, but how impossibly slender her waist and limbs are.

Her nails, though, are more surprising. As we shake hands, I notice how they are painted in sparkling silver stripes.

"Oh, these are my Strictly nails," she smiles, referring to her second career as a judge on BBC1's Strictly Come Dancing.

Darcey, 43, is in the Midlands to sign copies of her new book A Life In Pictures and to meet up again with old friends at Birmingham Royal Ballet.

She dropped in at Elmhurst School of Dance, attached to the BRB, to give the excited students a treat.

She says she has a 'special connection' with BRB because it was the first company she joined, though in 1987 it was still based in London and called Sadler's Wells. Darcey became the youngest-ever principal dancer with the Royal Ballet at 20, retiring 18 years later in 2007.

After watching two Elmhurst students perform a pas de deux from The Nutcracker, a role she has taken many times herself, Darcey couldn't help joining in a little, despite wearing high-heeled suede boots.

"Give, give, really push it," she encouraged, while elegantly stretching out her arms.

"When I retired, I thought I could just step away from the world of dance, but it's no use," she says afterwards.

"I want to be back in a studio, and when I'm there I want to join in. I'm not very good at sitting still.

"Though of course I'm not dancing at the same level, and I don't miss feeling the pain of being a principal ballerina.

"Now, as a coach, I can inflict the pain on other people!

"I think it's important that knowledge is passed along. I'm no teacher, I couldn't take a class, but I really enjoy coaching one-to-one. I would love to come back to Elmhurst to do more, it's a wonderful facility.

"I'm very jealous of the fact the students get to learn so many different types of dance, especially flamenco. I would have died to learn that.

"I've actually had a go since with a professional flamenco dancer and I love it, but all that stamping really hurts your shins.

"I have so many connections with BRB and I've seen many familiar faces today.

"I have amazing memories of Sir Peter Wright as my company director.

"A lot of his repertoire is still performed here and it's fantastic to see the students working on Nutcracker.

"I have danced that role so many times and still remember every little detail, it's ingrained in me.

"My passion now is being an ambassador for dance and motivating people, whether it's ballet students or the contestants on Strictly."

A beaming smile comes readily and often to Darcey's face, but life hasn't always been plain sailing for her.

"Lately she's been reminded of tougher times when compiling her book A Life In Pictures.

It's a glossy coffee table tome, documenting her career with photos taken by the likes of Lord Snowdon and Mario Testino.

"Seeing those pictures bring back so many memories - it's an emotional rollercoaster," she says.

"People presume that being a principal for 18 years, I was always good, but like everyone I struggled and went through periods of doubt.

"As a student I was told that maybe ballet wasn't for me and I should leave. I thought 'Please don't tell me that, this is all I can do!'."

The mother-of-two is married to businessman Angus Forbes. They lived in his native Australia for four years but returned this year for Strictly.

Darcey's first appearance on the BBC series did not go down too well, as she finished every sentence saying 'yah?'.

But she has relaxed into the role and impressed fans with her extensive knowledge of all forms of dance.

"I was very nervous to start with, all eyes were on me," she admits. "And I quite understand that when you are so passionate about a show, you will be very wary when new people step in.

"But I've been doing it for three months and I do enjoy my Saturdays now. It's a lovely show to be on, sending out a great message that everyone can enjoy dancing.

"I really hope that Lisa Riley gets to the final. She deserves to, because of the energy she puts into every dance. She is so sweet, I have really warmed to her.

"But I think the field is wide open. I really don't know who will be in the final. And it will be really sad to see people go from now on, because they all have such potential.

"Who could have believed Michael Vaughan would come out of his shell so much?"

Darcey denies recent reports that she has signed a contract to return to Strictly next year.

"I haven't signed anything, though I would very much like to come back if they want me," she says.

Nowadays, Darcey keeps fit with twice-weekly lessons of Zumba, aerobics crossed with Latin American dance, but she's not there to perform.

"I hide at the back and don't look anything like I look on Strictly - I'm dressed in tracksuit bottoms and a sports top, nothing too bright. It's a good job there are no mirrors.

"I just have a great time, it makes me smile and I don't have to think about whether I've got the right lines or not."