Cast your minds back a couple of months, and you may recall a report that ‘Strictly Come Dancing’ bosses had issued a blanket ban on any reality stars on this year’s line-up, with an insider claiming they were finished with low-rent celebs using the show to “cash in”.
Well, the 15 celebrities hitting the dance floor this year have now been revealed, and while it’s true there are no “reality stars” on the list, the line-up hasn’t met a lot of ‘Strictly’ fans’ expectations. We also couldn’t help but notice that one or two can already boast a few other celeb-based shows on their CVs already.
Here are the reality shows this year’s ‘Strictly’ stars have already taken part in...
Faye Tozer
As well as the infamous ‘Steps Reunion’ reality show, which saw the group reforming a decade on from their tumultuous split, Faye also took part in a celebrity edition of ‘Four Weddings’. It saw her compete against ‘Big Brother’ winner Pete Bennett, glamour model Michelle Marsh and former soap actress Carol Harrison.
Ashley Roberts
Here in the UK, Ashley made a post-PCD name for herself when she made it through to the final of ‘I’m A Celebrity’, and three years later, she signed up for ‘The Jump’.
However, her reality TV experience isn’t just limited to being a contestant, as she previously served as a judge for two series of ITV’s ‘Dancing On Ice’.
Lee Ryan
Given the show was thought to be staying away from reality stars, Lee’s name was the one we were most shocked to see on the line-up, as he’s the first celebrity to ever sign up for ‘Strictly’ after taking part in Channel 5’s incarnation of ‘Celebrity Big Brother’.
The Blue singer didn’t exactly fly under the radar on ‘CBB’ either, getting involved in a love triangle with Casey Batchelor and Jasmine Waltz, which dominated the show. He was also one of the participants in the infamous “x-rated” task, in which he cavorted in some leather pants and not much else.
Years before that, Lee also took part in ‘Hell’s Kitchen’, walking off earlier when he took issue with chef Marco Pierre White’s use of the slur “pikey”.
Susannah Constantine
Although best known for her work with Trinny Woodall on ‘What Not To Wear’, there’s every chance you’ll have seen Susannah more recently on the 2015 series of ‘I’m A Celebrity’, where she became the first campmate to be shown the door.
What’s more, she doesn’t appear to have been up to a great deal since TV-wise, apart from the Sport Relief special ‘Famously Unfit’ earlier this year.
Katie Piper
Model and TV personality Katie Piper was one of the Channel 4 stars who took part in ‘Hotel GB’, a show spread over five consecutive nights in which celebrities learned new skills related to running a hotel, with the aim of helping young unemployed people find work.
Katie served as the spa manager, with other participants including housekeeper Kim Woodburn, bar manager Gok Wan and general managers Gordon Ramsay and Mary Portas.