Caroline Quentin said she received a round of applause at her local grocery store after it was announced she was taking part in Strictly Come Dancing.
The showbiz veteran, 60, said the response to her starring in the BBC show has been unlike anything else she has ever been part of.
“People are thrilled, absolutely thrilled,” Quentin said.
“Honestly, I’m really not exaggerating. I’ve never known anything like it. Everywhere I go, people are like, ‘We can’t wait. Oh my god, we’re so glad you’re doing it’. That’s so exciting. It’s been so delightful.”
Quentin, known for TV roles in Men Behaving Badly and Jonathan Creek, admitted she has been surprised by the response and revealed one of her famous friends is a huge Strictly fan.
“Until you’re in the eye of the storm, you don’t really know how much people love something,” Quentin said.
“I’ve been working with Elizabeth Hurley and she’s more excited about it than anyone I’ve ever met. She has told me so much information about the programme that I didn’t know, past years and winners, what’s happened and how to go about it.
“She and her son Damian have been extraordinarily supportive. In my local grocer, I got a round of applause when I went to buy some fruit!”
Quentin has previous dance experience and went to ballet school until she was 10.
She studied other areas of dance as a teenager, but never ballroom.
“I’ve done a few musicals where I’ve had to move about a bit but I wouldn’t say I’m a trained dancer,” she added.
Quentin said the chance of a distraction from the bleakness of the pandemic convinced her to take part in Strictly.
She said: “It’s definitely something to do with the times we’re living in. I was about to do a play at the National Theatre which was cut short as we all went into lockdown, so I was reeling a bit from that.
“Then Strictly came, and I thought, this might be something just delightfully fun.
“It’s pretty bleak out there for people at the moment and I wanted to do something for myself that was joyful, but also for all of us, my family and friends and, God almighty, people love it. It was definitely the right choice.”
Strictly Come Dancing returns to BBC One for the launch show on October 17.
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