SHE has faced blistering criticism from the pesky Strictly judges but Carol Kirkwood’s harshest critic could well be Donald, her much-loved cat.

“I put on the music for our dance this weekend – we’re doing the rumba to the Partridge Family’s I Think I Love You – and he shot off my lap and headed straight out the cat flap,” she says.

“He had been sitting there quite the thing until the song started. I guess he is not a fan….”

Donald’s desertion aside, Carol is looking forward to tonight’s show – and she is still loving being part of the silly, sparkly Strictly bubble.

“I am thrilled to still be here – week six,” she laughs.

“Who would have thought it? I’m so grateful to everyone who has voted to keep us in.

“We have even avoided the dreaded dance-off – so far…”

Viewers of the hit Saturday night show are supporting Carol and her dance partner Pasha Kovalev by keeping her out of trouble, despite those nasty judges.

“It has the romance of a cleaning session,” was Bruno’s comment after last week’s Viennese waltz, while Craig Revel Horwood called her quickstep 'limp, lame and lacklustre'.

“The judges are the experts, and everything they say is valid,” says Carol.

“Of course it has to be entertaining so there is a bit of drama in there too, but all the things they pick up on, like my top line and my arms, Pasha is telling me about too.”

She said: “I love dancing, but it is harder than I ever contemplated it would be.

"There is so much to THINK about on every beat.

"And when you think about the next step, your arms go out the window, so you concentrate on your arms, and you forget the next step….”

Carol’s elation at being part of the big Strictly rollercoaster – she has been an avid fan since the first series – doesn’t mean she isn’t exhausted.

“I’m up at 2.45am for the day job and afterwards, at about 8.30am I head to the training studio,” says the 53-year-old, who grew up in Morar, on the west coast of Scotland.

“The cameras are with us mostly all the time – so they do get the good, the bad and the ugly – and I get home about six to have something to eat.”

She smiles: “The dance gremlins mean I’m too awake to sleep so it’s usually about 9pm when I go to bed.

“So yes, it’s relentless, but in a nice way.

“I don’t want Strictly to end, because it will be brutal, there will be no gentle slide into it. You’re in this lovely, unrealistic bubble and then bang, it’s over.

“If I do go out on Saturday, my fondest memory will be getting to dance with Pasha, who is a real sweetheart, and so patient.

"And my favourite frock was definitely my lovely Viennese waltz dress.”

Whatever happens on Saturday, Carol has fallen in love with dancing – and look out for her in a Glasgow nightclub near you…

“I love Glasgow – I used to work at BBC Scotland in the west end and it was great, wandering round all the shops on Byres Road,” she recalls.

“Am I up for a night out dancing in Glasgow when all this is over? You bet.”