Ben Shephard left his Good Morning Britain co-stars disappointed on Thursday morning when he confirmed that not only is he is not joining the Strictly Come Dancing 2020 lineup, but it is unlikely he will ever compete on the BBC show.
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WATCH: Susanna Reid thought Ben Shephard was going to star on Strictly
Both Susanna Reid and Charlotte Hawkins said they were convinced Ben was going to be the GMB star joining the series rather than Ranvir Singh, who was announced as one of the latest additions to the lineup on Wednesday.
Ranvir Singh is set to star on the 2020 series of Strictly Come Dancing
"One of the shows that Ben is not taking part in this year which we are all very disappointed about of course… we thought it was you on Strictly!" Susanna said on Thursday morning. "No you didn't," Ben replied. "Yes we did," echoed Susanna and Charlotte.
Ben then admitted he is "not allowed" to appear on Strictly, telling his colleagues: "We have established over a number of weeks and now a number of years that there are certain reasons I'm not allowed to do it. Andy's showing why he's not allowed to do it. But Ranvir's doing it, Ranvir's in.
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"This is fabulous news. Honestly the first thing I thought was 'thank goodness Ranvir's doing it because it takes a bit of pressure off.'" His comments prompted Charlotte to add: "You're safe for another year."
Ben Shephard's wife isn't keen for him to compete on the show
Ben recently told Andi Peters he would "love" to compete on the show, but his wife isn't keen for him to do so. "Andi, I would love to do Strictly. As you know, I spent three years in university learning to dance, I have a degree in dance - it doesn't make me a good dancer, obviously," he explained.
"But my wife really doesn't want me to do Strictly, I've spoken about it very publicly, but she's not interested in me having an affair." He jokily added: "I think she's being very narrow-minded and it could be a great opportunity, who knows what could happen? It would be an amazing experience, I love a bit of spangle and glamour on a Saturday night…"
The Tipping Point host concluded: "As things stand though, that's a negotiation that needs to happen between the BBC and my wife... I can get myself into a lot of trouble here!"
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