NEWSREADER Kate Silverton is already a bit of a star in our house thanks to her terrific performances on Strictly Come Dancing.

Who knew that the usually serious journalist had that streak of sheer entertainment in her? She has already performed dances with partner Alijaz Skorjanec showing her smouldering and sexy side and she remains a possible front-runner.

More than that, though, Kate is using her current high profile to raise awareness about children’s mental health. The mother of two, who studied psychology at the University of Durham, is training as a children’s counsellor.

She feels strongly that youngsters need to challenge themselves and step out of their comfort zones to take risks without having fear of the future.

This sounds especially sensible at a time when risk is over-highlighted and “playing it safe” a lifestyle.

Life is not like that and children need to develop resilience just like developing everything else. While I hope Kate succeeds in Strictly, I really wish her well with this much more important crusade.