Colin Jackson and Erin Boag were runners-up in the final of the competition. Enlarge Image

Bookies had tipped Cardiff-born Jackson to win the TV show - but he lost to cricketer Darren Gough in the live final on Saturday night.

He told BBC Radio Wales he had "loved the whole thing" and had never expected to make it to the last three.

But he said he was too busy with sport to continue ballroom dancing regularly.

Five million people voted in the Strictly Come Dancing final, which drew about 10 million viewers.

The show, hosted by Bruce Forsyth, is now in its third series.

The athlete told the BBC the final was another classic Jackson "close finish", but he added: "It was brilliant. I absolutely loved it all, it was such an exciting time."

The Olympic hurdler paid tribute to his dancing partner, ballroom champion Erin Boag.

"I could not have chosen a better partner. She learnt a lot about me quite quickly and was able to teach me the way I could understand things," he said.

I can't see me putting on a pair of dancing shoes until at least the summer Colin Jackson

"Anybody who knows me knows that I don't dance at all. I just sit there - I make all the excuses under the sun not to get to the dance floor.

"The only time you find me crossing the dance floor is when I go to the toilet."

Jackson said he had struggled at the start of the series before things started to go well.

He added: "Once they start to get gel you can really start to believe in yourself - and that's when you can let yourself go."

But he said that commitments in sport meant it was unlikely he could continue with the four to six hours a day he has been dancing over the last few weeks.