HE has impressed the nation with his dancing in Strictly Come Dancing on TV. Now Aled Jones will be proving that he has still got a great vocal talent on his UK tour.

As a boy Aled was an instinctive singer, picking up a piece of music and being able to interpret it almost immediately.

But when he started out on his singing career again last year he had to work at it.

"It was a hard slog," he recalled. "I had to really think about how I'd phrase a piece, whereas now that's come back to me, I can just do it.

"And it's so exciting for me because then it means I can put the emotion into a song."

Since shooting to stardom singing the song for Raymond Briggs' cartoon adaptation of The Snowman, Aled also presents Songs Of Praise, a radio show for BBC Radio Wales and a programme for BBC One Wales.

But his life has changed dramatically, not just professionally. He and his wife Claire now have a baby daughter Emilia, born in February 2002.

"When the last album was launched I was doing a concert in St David's Hall in Cardiff - you know, small venue, no pressure," he joked.

"Songs Of Praise was filming. I was absolutely nervous. I had to go on stage, present it and sing.

"My dad came in with Emilia on a papoose, and she just saw me and grinned, and I thought to myself, why am I worried about doing this.

"This is what's real."

Aled will be at Portsmouth Guildhall on Wednesday and Poole Lighthouse on Sunday.

Portsmouth Guildhall box office: 023 9282 4355

Poole Lighthouse box office: 01202 685222. Tickets are £18.50