There are plenty of organisations making a real difference to the lives of gay people around the country that do need our help, so why undermine the wonder of 'Strictly' by politicising it?
— Robert Rinder
Ultimately, whenever you have a new opportunity, do it with gusto and fun and be wholly indifferent to what other people think.
I did a couple of plays at university, badly, where I made friends with Benedict Cumberbatch. When you see someone like him acting, it makes you think there's not much point in doing it yourself.
I think if you put 100% into anything and you do it with authenticity and enthusiasm, then it really shines through.
I give celebrity my undivided indifference. Now that it's here, there's absolutely nothing wrong with it. And people who complain about celebrity and any kind of privilege are, all of them, whinging morons, and they should keep their first-world problems to themselves. I feel very strongly about that.
I'm not pretending when I'm in that court room.
I realise I'm known for doing big, very serious cases, but fundamentally, any lawyer will tell you that even the most complex trials come down to the same questions. Are people telling porky pies? Are bank accounts dodgy? Is someone trying to get one over on you? It's my job to listen and then decide.
I'm very much into Barry's Boot Camp... it's the real deal.
I hope I'm always appropriate on 'JR' if it's a serious case. But if you have a case of a man who has a wardrobe malfunction with a lime green mankini, even I on the odd occasion find it mildly amusing.
My musical taste is somewhat dated - I mean, freeze frame, go back 60 years, and you're in my comfort zone.
Is it exploitative to get the victim of an unimaginably horrific crime to talk on my show 'Crime Stories?' No, it's crucial.
I can conduct and play musical instruments, but dancers' counting is different - they only go to eight beats, which doesn't relate to a bar.
I like people to be authentic, thoughtful, and honest.
I find it amusing when you look at plastic surgeons because they don't seem to have had anything done.
Fitness is really important for my mental and emotional equilibrium as well as my physical wellbeing.
I was an appalling person to teach. At 14, I was pretty advanced. I would read all the books in a few minutes, and I was bored. It must have been awful for a teacher to have a bright boy who's giving them his undivided indifference.
Above all else, look around to employ the best talent you possibly can.
My sexuality, in terms of 'Strictly' or whatever else I do in my life, ought to be as irrelevant as the length of my big toe.
By the time I finished doing regular practice, most of my work was in international regulatory law, so I was advising foreign governments about their responsibility and roles in things like public inquiries.
I really worry about the way in which you, as a celebrity, are disproportionately treated. Frankly, the industry is almost single-handedly designed to interfere with people's moral chemistry.
I really want to emphasise this - 'Strictly' is a positive show. It's interesting that it gets cast into this, understandably, the ordinary net of reality shows, but there's no part of it which feels nihilistic or unpleasant. It's all about learning something and doing well, and you feel this overwhelming sense of people wanting you to do well.
I used to deal with high-profile criminal cases that were covered extensively in the media, and one of the things I quickly appreciated was there was a gulf between what really took place in the middle of a case, the impact on victims, the effect on the police and how they solved crimes, and the way it was reported.
From time to time, I definitely look witheringly, which is why I'm well known.
The law is the law whether you're dealing with a multi-million-pound fraud or a car deal where someone feels diddled because their exhaust falls off on the way home.
Even my trolls have started taking the trouble to spell their Tweets correctly, which is thoughtful.
It is difficult to ever think about your loved one having suffered.
Going to salsa clubs may be popular, but I feel we're really missing something as a society by overlooking ballroom dancing. If only we could persuade schools to teach it or there was somewhere young people could go on a Saturday night to learn it.
On TV, the nitty-gritty of trials takes place between commercial breaks, whereas, of course, reality is infinitely more complex. True crime also makes us more empathetic.
It's always nice to have new clothes made for you.
I respond well to terribly beautiful, terribly brilliant Russian women.
I think I'm incredibly stoic. If I have a bad headache, it takes a while before I reach for a tablet.
Never trust people; always trust paper. I'd marry a piece of paper if I could.
I can smell a liar like a fart in a lift!
Great broadcasting requires all of us, those who are in positions of power and especially those who are in positions to employ people, to remember you need to look towards the greatest conceivable palate to create greatness.
Would it be a big step forward for the LGBTQI community if there were same-sex couples on 'Strictly?' Do me a favour. Some things ain't politics, and 'Strictly' is one of them.
I don't want to be a total moron and be just known as the jazz-handed judge.
When somebody teaches you to love something, you never forget that! It's such a generous thing to do.
I wish I had a filter; then, I'd suspect, who knows? I'd perhaps have more friends.
The reality is that when you're a barrister, you're trained, and you've got ethical structures. You've got to follow the evidence, and that's that.
The only thing I knew would make my grandmother more proud than watching my TV courtroom was to see me dressed up in white tie doing the foxtrot.
Serious crime is very, very rare, and I think all of us are interested because they are rare and unusual. If they were banal and everyday, we wouldn't be interested in them at all.
I do get stopped in the street, and people are always, without exception, really polite. I think it's because they think I can send them to prison.
When I first heard Lady Gaga's 'Born This Way,' I looked out the window for the car alarm going off.
Learning about crime in great detail forces us to ask ourselves how it happened, how the victims and perpetrators got to that point, how the law works, how the police force functions.
As a lawyer, I've dealt with really serious offences, and the public rarely hear what the true impact is on the victims' families. When you hear it from the mouths of victims, your entire approach changes, because it could happen to anybody, and they articulate that in such a powerful way.
There's certainly more chance of me winning 'Strictly' than having an affair with my dance partner, but you know, who knows?
I loathe people who are disingenuous or inauthentic.
I'm not as conscious as I should be about my diet and eating a healthy balance of fruit and vegetables because I do so much exercise. However, I love good grilled fish and Mediterranean/Middle-Eastern salads.
One of the happy consequences of my brain is that I rarely sleep.
I think with 'Strictly,' people don't want you to do badly. They're willing you to do well.
