Cricketer Graeme Swann is the sixth celebrity contestant confirmed for the brand new series of ‘Strictly Come Dancing’.
The sportsman will join previously announced contestants TV personality Katie Piper, Steps singer Faye Tozer, actor Danny John-Jules, YouTuber Joe Sugg and Radio presenter Vick Hope.
Ahead of his stint on the ‘Strictly’ dance floor, Graeme said: “It’s true - I’ve signed up for Strictly! I’m hoping to follow in the footsteps of the cricketers who’ve come before me who’ve either won the whole thing or had an absolute ball on the show.”
He added: “Keeping it under wraps from my kids has been nearly impossible; they are huge fans of the show and I can’t wait to see their faces when I tell them. I don’t have any background in dancing but can do the floss so let’s hope this comes in useful!”
A cricketer has won ‘Strictly’ in the past when Darren Gough lifted the glitterball trophy on the third series of the BBC dance show.
Despite never finishing top of the judges’ leaderboard, Darren and his partner, Lilia Kopylova, defeated athlete Colin Jackson and presenter Zoë Ball in the final.
Other names rumoured to be taking part in this year’s series include Radio 1 presenter Maya Jama, former ‘EastEnders’ actress Samantha Womack, ‘Great British Bake Off’ winner Nadiya Hussain, Good Morning Britain’s Piers Morgan and 90s TV star Anneka Rice.
There’s still no official word on when the 16th series of the BBC dance show will kick off, but if the dates follow the same pattern as 2017, we should expect ‘Strictly’ to launch on Saturday 8 September, before the first live show on Saturday 22 September.