A versatile performer, Todd McKenney puts his razor wit to good use as a judge on Seven's Dancing with the Stars and co-hosting Mornings with Sonia Kruger & Todd McKenney on Sydney radio station Mix106.5FM. The 43-year-old also hotfoots it onstage (in platforms) as drag queen Mitzi in the hit show Priscilla, Queen of the Desert - The Musical at Sydney's Lyric Theatre.

Earlier this year, it was McKenney's exploits away from the spotlight that landed him in the news. On April 25, he was arrested in Sydney's Rushcutters Bay Park for possession of the drug GHB, but the charges were dropped on Nov. 3. "I've had tremendous support across the board," says McKenney. "Priscilla has been a wonderful show of support from the theatrical community. Listeners [of the radio show] were very vocal, which has just been great."

Ever since becoming known as Dancing's nasty judge in 2004, McKenney has had to weather his fair share of negative press. "I have a positive spin on life and I love what I do and I like me," he says. "I've done work on me to be as I am. I don't care if the papers don't like me. I have to sleep with me at the end of the day and I have to wake up with me and I have to carry me around all day and I'm happy to do that."

Friends and family say that McKenney is far from his bitchy Dancing diva. "He's such a nice person and that, to me, is better than however good he is on- stage," says his mother, who is visiting from her Gold Coast home. "He's so generous to everyone. I say to him, 'Oh Todd, you don't need to do that,' but he's kind and good." Kruger, who has known him since they dated in their teens, seconds that: "Todd is generous to the point of being a soft touch. He's forever helping somebody. He's a bit of a knight in shining armour."

It's not just McKenney's loved ones who regard him highly. The former ballroom-dancing champion, who became a household name during his 1998-2000 run in the Peter Allen musical The Boy From Oz, is as in demand as ever. "When I was growing up in Perth and mum taught me, all I wanted to do was be the best male freelance dancer in Australia," he says. "My career's kind of spread like a fungus. But I am surprised. I don't take it for granted. The Boy From Oz changed everything and I just think any minute somebody's going to go, 'You're a fraud and the gig's up,' but I'd rather be someone who doubts everything they do because it keeps you on the front foot and keeps that drive going."

That determination and a passion for performing propel him. Though it's his third day in a row on less than four hour's kip, McKenney is full of life. "I love every job and each one has a different energy," he says, wiping away Priscilla glitter - "It's in my bed and on my dogs!" - from above his left ear. "Priscilla is high-camp, outrageous fun. Radio is more serious fun, and Dancing is about technique. It's only for about seven weeks that all three cross over and I thought, 'When is it ever going to happen again in my life: on stage, television and radio?' You've got to be happy with that!" he says.

Photo: Todd McKenney pictured with Sonia Kruger, Getty Images