Strictly Come Dancing could see Mary Berry joining the new series if Claudia Winkleman gets her way! The TV presenter hinted that the 83-year-old cook will be signing up to the BBC One dance programme during a recent chat with the TV Times. Claudia and Mary have been working together on new show Britain's Best Home Cook, and Claudia was asked whether she had been persuading her new TV partner to be taking part in the show, she replied: "Yes, they're all doing it!" – referring to Mary, along with co-judges Chris Bavin and Dan Doherty. Claudia added: "I probably shouldn’t say it but you'll see them all in September." According to Claudia, Mary "starts with a rumba."
Claudia Winkleman has said Strictly fans will see Mary Berry "in September"
A lot of changes are expected to be in store when the new Strictly series starts later in the year following Brendan Cole's shock axe from the show. It is thought that Brendan will be replaced by AJ Pritchard's 21-year-old brother Curtis, while earlier in the week, judge Craig Revel Horwood suggested that there could be further switch arounds, telling Daily Star: "Everyone is replaceable, everyone. They could get someone else to replace me. They wouldn’t be as good though!" Craig added that they will all find out "around June". "So it will be a month and a half before I know if I'm doing the next series," he said.
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Mary is one of the many celebrities tipped for the 2018 Strictly series
Mary isn’t the only celebrity who has been tipped for the new series of Strictly. At the beginning of the month, it was reported that Coleen Rooney would be appearing in the dance show. A source told The Mirror: "Coleen deferred her place last year after falling pregnant but has the option of taking it up this year – and talks have already begun to make that happen. This would be one of Strictly's biggest signings ever. And it would be a ratings sensation. Producers know that they will need to pull out all the stops to land Coleen. But they have been told she is interested." Other names linked to the new series so far include ex-EastEnders actress Lorna Fitzgerald, who played Abi Branning in the soap, Rylan Clark-Neal, Piers Morgan and The Chase's Mark Labbett, aka The Beast.
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