Over the years, Strictly Come Dancing fans have watched countless famous faces hit the dance floor in a bid to lift the iconic Glitterball trophy.
Since launching in 2004, Strictly Come Dancing has seen a diverse mix of celebrities — from actors and comedians to singers and sports icons — step onto the BBC’s famous dance floor.
This year’s competition is intensifying as the stars fight to secure a spot in the highly anticipated Blackpool Week, but one contestant has just missed out on reaching that major landmark.
Reflecting on his time on the beloved show, Phil Tufnell revealed he’d had strong doubts about taking part at first.
Appearing on Sunday’s episode of Love Your Weekend with Alan Titchmarsh, the 59-year-old cricket star joined Queen’s Brian May and actress Denise Black on the guest lineup.
Noting the group’s talents, Alan remarked: “You’re all musical! Well, Brian obviously is — and we saw you on Strictly!”
Phil confessed: “Yeah, it was absolutely terrifying — live, in front of 15 million people, wearing a pink top cut down to the navel!”
“I realised I was in trouble when my dance partner, Katya (Virshilas), told me, ‘Dancing with you feels like moving furniture.’ I thought, ‘Right… I’m not going to be very good at this.’”
Meanwhile, fellow guest Denise Black revealed she had been approached to take part in Strictly, but joked to producers that she’d have a better chance of winning Crufts, according to Wales Online.
After watching a clip of his Tango from his time on the show, Phil admitted it was his standout performance on the BBC series, telling the ITV host that it had been “great fun.”
He explained: “The main reason I agreed to do it was actually for my wife, Dawn. I wasn’t keen at first, but Dawn said, ‘You’re doing it because all my family – all my aunties and uncles – want to get tickets.’
“So I had to go ahead with it! It was great fun, but I think I left at the right time; my moment had passed.”
Phil competed on Strictly Come Dancing in 2009 and became the ninth celebrity to be eliminated. That year, Chris Hollins won the series with his professional partner, Ola Jordan.
Currently on Strictly, Amber Davies and Nikita Kuzmin are topping the leaderboard with an impressive score of 38.
Close behind them is Emmerdale actor Lewis Cope, who earned 37 from the judges. Meanwhile, Balvinder Sopal and Vicky Pattison sit at the bottom of the rankings, both scoring 27.
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