Now the real deal behind America's favorite reality show So You Think You Can Dance (SYTYCD), Deeley greets audiences each week with her charming Birmingham accent, proving that a British girl could actually storm the American TV industry.

"I feel a bit lucky," Deeley talked with The Jakarta Post over the phone from London. "I mean they might go, *Okay, you're a crazy English...' But it works for the show, it works for the audience," she laughed.

Of course, the show's enthusiasts know it very well - it's not just her accent or innate confidence that distinguishes her from her American TV hosts. It's her genuine people skills, warm and bubbly personality that make her appear irresistible to anyone. She always shows a sincere interest in each of the contestants - defending them from harsh criticism, while at the same time being witty with judges without sounding like a jerk.

"I'm a comforter, a cheerleader," said the 33-year-old blondie describing the role she plays in the show. "*I'm* their biggest fan - that's my job," she added.

And when it comes to hosting, Deeley has more in her that makes her shine: she enjoyably plays the antithesis of most presenters on American TV, who sometimes appear robotic like those Stepford Wives.

"I think I'm maybe a bit *more real' than your typical American host," said the ex-model who was born with the full name Catherine Elizabeth Deeley.

Deeley is all about being natural when hosting the show. She still sprinkles her sentences with "darlings" and "sweeties", something that characterizes a Brummie - or a native of Birmingham.

"What you ideally want is to be smart and intelligent and bubbly and bright," she said. "No one wants someone super-intelligent and boring."

Being smart and bright - and attractive too - were traits Deeley inherited a long time ago. When she was young, she knew she had a passion for the entertainment world, but she decided to complete her education first - with flying colors.

So, after entering a modeling competition at the age of 14 and doing some modelling work for a while, Deeley went back to school and pushed herself to gain four A-levels in history, English literature, general studies and mathematics.

"I did well at school, and really enjoyed it," she said. "Quite often, anything to do with the entertainment business is incredibly unstable. And so I wanted to get an education first."

And she until today still holds onto to this belief, as she always advises teenagers who dream of becoming entertainers to finish school first. When we leave school, she said, "we might not end up using Pythagoras' theorem ever again, or have to name all of Henry VIII's wives."

"But I know when I go into a meeting, I am taken seriously. People can't just dismiss me because I have no education and that's very important."

Her witty personality was later recognized when she decided to take a break from the modelling and tried her luck as a TV presenter.

"I saw a casting on MTV and that was how I started," she said of the time she submitted a home-made audition video for MTV UK.

"You know, that *hosting* was something I*d always wanted to do when I was a little girl," she added.

She had no expectations in this new arena at all, she said. But her passion and dream led her to win the audition and host MTV programs. She later received more offers, including hosting for children TV show SM:TV, in which she partnered with duo musicians Ant and Dec from 1998-2002.

That is when she developed her funny and motherly-like personality. Her winning appearance in the show also led her to several local awards and more prestigious offers, like the famous music program CD:UK, Fame Academy and Stars in Their Eyes.

She then met Nigel Lythgoe, who later became one of the judges in the SYTYCD. And three years ago, Nigel finally offered her a big break in the US, asking her to replace the original SYTYCD presenter.

"After its first season, the host was pregnant so couldn't come back and do the second season," Deeley recalled. "So, Nigel said to me, *Look, I've got this show, I think you'd be perfect for it'."

So there she went, off the US, after breaking up with her longtime boyfriend Mark Whelan, a PR executive, for the sake of her career.

"Why not give *the offer* a go and see what happens; push myself a little," said Deeley, who's now dating actor Jack Huston. "We all do it. My way was getting on a plane and going to America."

And she made the right decision. Deeley has stayed in the show for six seasons. Even better, now she's returning home to host the British version of the show this year for BBC, joining the ranks of those trans-Atlantic commuters who fly to London on Thursdays and return to Los Angeles on Sundays. Tired? Definitely. But, she said, "I must not grumble. Dunkirk spirit and all that. I love my job."

After all, Deeley went on, the show, which has now been made in many versions in Greece, Australia and Poland, somehow reflects the same spirit she had when pursuing her dreams.

"You know, it's amazing for me to find out that they *the contestants* become dancers not to become famous or not for money, but they actually do it because they love it," she said. "And I think that's one thing you have to be passionate about. You know, make the best of it, make it your career."

And for her, the show also proves the American dream is absolutely alive and kicking.

"That's what I like about the show, it proves you can come from any background, any race, religion, color, creed. It doesn't matter," she said. "As long as you have talent and you're prepared to work and you can be anything you want to be ..."

So, Miss Deeley, now that you have achieved your own version of the American dream, tell us: which do you love more - a career in London or in LA?

"Owww... that's a difficult one!" she laughed. "I love the lifestyle in LA, and definitely, I love the sunshine and the palm trees..." she paused and continued, "but I think I have to say I love London more... because that's where my home, my family and my friends... You see the Thames river, St. Pauls, the London Eye and so on, and it's *Oh, I'm back!'

"It's like when you come back from holiday - you know you have had a great time, but you're coming home."

Watch the premier episode of So You Think You Can Dance on Jan. 25th 2010 on AXN.

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