‘I was so shy but I found dancing made my heart sing’: Former Pussycat Doll Kimberley Wyatt on her new life in Britain

KIMBERLY WYATT shot to global fame as one of the Pussycat Dolls.

She toured the world with Nicole Scherzinger and the rest of the girls, with the group selling more than 50 million records.

Missouri-born Kimberly, 35, moved to the UK and became a judge on Sky 1’s Got To Dance.

She’s passionate about getting youngsters to dance and the latest of many projects is her World Elite Dance Academy books.

The second, Tilly’s Time To Shine (Egmont £6.99), came out last week.

Kimberly is married to model Max Rogers. They have a two-year-old daughter Willow and Kimberly’s due to have their second child next month.

Kimberly told iN10 about her 10 Big Life Moments.

FIRST STEPS

Dancing wasn’t my first dream, that was to become an Olympic gymnast.

I was such a big fan of the Olympics and started gymnastics when I was seven but moved into dance styles like ballet, tap and jazz.

I was looking for what made my heart sing. I went from super-shy and lacking confidence to feeling good about myself with all the choreography I could do when I stepped into a dance studio.

COMPETITION

I entered my first competition, Miss Dance Of America, just to get some experience, when I was 10.

Although I didn’t expect to do well, I ended up winning it. That was the first moment I thought: “Hey, maybe I do have something special”.

I won more and more competitions and got scholarships to train in Broadway studios in New York during the summer as a result.

Then getting a scholarship to the Joffrey Ballet at 14 finally meant all my hard work had paid off.

Thousands of girls from all over America were in for it.

FIRST JOB

I got my first job when I was 17½.

I really put the hours in at high school, going in at 5am so I could get an extra credit which let me graduate early.

I flew to Las Vegas for some auditions, particularly for a cruise line. I still remember the phone call telling me I’d landed the job as a singer and dancer.

I’d be touring the world and felt like I’d won the lottery.

LIFE AT SEA

I set off on my first working cruise when I was 18 and did two six-month contracts, one in the Mediterranean, the other in the Caribbean.

There were three different full-on shows a week as well as parades and other duties.

I discovered very quickly I wasn’t any good on the water and was so seasick.

BIGGEST BREAK

I wanted to work on land, so I went Los Angeles and took on odd jobs to pay the bills while looking for dance work.

It was just a case of being at the right audition at the right time.

Choreographer Robin Antin, who was the creator of the Pussycat Dolls, booked me as a dancer on MTV.

I did some shows with the Pussycat Dolls and, about 18 months later, Gwen Stefani brought along someone from a record label who was ready to turn us into a recording group.

LIFE AS A DOLL

It was a lot of hard work!

The way the group was set up, you were constantly fighting for your job.

I was always trying to be the absolute best Pussycat Doll I could be.

You sacrificed your life to be on the road – we toured the first album for three years. It was brilliant, though, because I was winning awards and felt I’d really made my mark as a dancer in the music industry.

But it was a show owned by Robin and I knew they could re-cast it and put other girls into it so I was always trying to prove I deserved my spot, which was tough.

I loved working with the girls because it was being with the best of the best.

We were all behind the female empowerment message, sharing our talents and our differences.

GOT TO DANCE

When the Dolls finished Got To Dance came along and that led me to a whole new life.

I got to be a judge and a mentor for five years, giving back to the next generation of dreamers.

Doing that show felt like a real, honest accomplishment.

And, of course, that brought me to the UK where I’d always felt at home as it was always the first place we’d tour.

LOVE, MARRIAGE AND BABIES

I was a special guest at Clothes Show Live in Birmingham and Max was the main model.

A good friend got me to do the catwalk with the models at the end and it turned out he was throwing me to the man who’d be my husband.

In every picture I’ve seen, Max and I are looking in different directions. But there was a love-at-first-sight moment at the party afterwards when I saw him in regular clothes and he surprised me with his great, intelligent conversation.

My hand fell into his and the rest is history.

Being a mum is the most special thing, like fairy tales do exist.

Willow talks to my tummy and I know she’s ready to be a big sister.

As a mum you realise these little creatures are so independent and it’s been magical to see her develop.

COOKING UP A STORM

I’d just become a mum when Celebrity MasterChef came along and I knew cooking natural, organic food was really important.

To be honest I felt I was rubbish and wouldn’t get past the first round.

But that was my goal. Every mini victory along the way came as a result of my dance work ethic.

Each week when I got home I treated it like a dress rehearsal, doing the dishes over and over until I felt comfortable enough doing it in the MasterChef kitchen.

Your brain turns to mush and you pick up a knife and find your whole hand is shaking.

Winning was amazing, but such a surprise.

SCHOOLS AND BOOKS

I now have my Dance Academy to inspire young dancers, I’m patron of Step Into Dance in secondary schools and I’m doing my Well-Fit campaign in primary schools.

It’s given me a purpose in my life. You go into schools and the kids are nervous and halfway across the room and by the end they’re smiling and having the best fun.

The other thing I’ve loved doing is the books. Since I was on cruise ships I’ve kept journals and thought I’d do a book about being a dancer.

But now the experiences have found their way into this series of World Elite Dance Academy books with the third, Andre’s Showcase, due in September.