Now that Strictly Come Dancing is almost over for another year (we've still got the Strictly tour to look forward to!), it's time to look ahead to the 2022 series - and we may have our first contestant already.
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Following his dancefloor debut in last year's Strictly Christmas Special, The Repair Shop host Jay Blades has revealed that he would be up for taking part in a full series while speaking on the BBC Radio 2 Breakfast Show with host Zoe Ball.
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After Zoe pointed out that EastEnders actress Maisie Smith participated in the BBC show's Children in Need special alongside Kevin Clifton back in 2019 before making it to the final of the 2020 series, Jay responded: "I tell you what, it would be nice."
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However, the TV star said that he was concerned he may not have enough time to commit to the show's rigorous training schedule. As he explained: "The only thing is, there's so much other filming that I'm looking to do. The Repair Shop is kind of full-on. We film six days a week so it'd be hard to fit it in, yeah."
Zoe then clarified to listeners: "Okay, all right, but he's not saying no, that wasn't a no!"
Jay was partnered with professional dancer Luba Mushtuk for the festive special
Jay agreed. "I'm not saying no, yeah."
The 51-year-old took part in the annual festive special last month alongside professional dance partner Luba Mushtuk. While the pair managed to score an impressive 34 points, they were beaten to Glitterball Trophy by singer Anne-Marie and her partner Graziano Di Prima, who scored a perfect 40.
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At the time, Jay admitted that he found rehearsals for the one-off competition harder than he expected. "I like new challenges, I never knew this would be this difficult. Learning dance routines means your brain has to function in a completely different way," he said. "When your brain gets it, hopefully your body catches up."
However, Lubna was full of praise for Jay. She said: "He is a great student, I absolutely adore him, he is such a gentleman. There is a part of the choreography where he needs to push off of me, and he has such a hard time doing it as he says I am a lady! But it has been wonderful."
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