I DON’T like Dirty Dancing.

There, I said it. Those five, well, ‘dirty’ words.

I just never saw the appeal.

The film came out when I was 12 and, despite its popularity, it didn’t sound like my kind of thing so I never made any real effort to see it.

But then, a couple of years later, I went on a school trip to France, and the teachers decided it would be just the thing to quieten down a bunch of rowdy teenagers on a coach, so on went the video.

We were a captive audience. I had no choice.

And it got the desired effect immediately, at least among the girls.

But as my classmates swooned at the sight of Patrick Swayze, I was left cold.

Maybe I was a late developer when it came to romance, maybe my teenage crush quota had already been filled by John Lennon and Mr Spock - or maybe I was missing something.

After all, it seems that most of those Dirty Dancing fans out there have never grown out of it, and their ranks have only swelled.

It’s been nearly 30 years, and the film’s appeal has widened to include those who weren’t even born when Swayze was manfully hoisting Jennifer Grey over his head in a lake.

I asked my Facebook friends if disliking it makes me weird. Apparently, the answer is an almost universal “yes”.

"You are on your own!” said my unnecessarily gleeful little sister on reading the responses. “Catchy tunes, a female lead who isn't model beautiful (and therefore we can all dream that one day something like that might happen to us - and that we have secret dancing talent), a bad boy who is actually a good boy, a good boy who is actually a bad boy, and a scene with a man carrying two melons... what more could you want?”

My best friend rallied to the cause. “If it’s any consolation, I can’t stand it either,” she commented.

There’s probably a reason why she’s my best friend.

But maybe I should give it another go. The live show, which is drawing in the crowds from far and wide - and getting some rave reviews - is on at the Mayflower in Southampton, and there’s a tribute show at the City Hall.

Then again, while Dirty Dancing fans still have a bit of a crush on Johnny and Baby, I still have a bit of a crush on Lennon and Spock, so maybe some things just never change.