BBC WANT PARA STAR JONNIE ON STRICTLY
BBC want para-athlete on Strictly
JONNIE PEACOCK is being strongly pursued by the BBC to become the first para-athlete on Strictly Come Dancing. Cricketers Darren Gough and Mark Ramprakash and gymnast Louis Smith have all dazzled on the programme. And now the Beeb are keen to showcase another leading sports star. Powerhouse sprinter Peacock, 24, won 100 metres gold in the World Para Athletics Championships in London last week. He would be the first athlete with a disability to appear on BBC’s flagship Saturday show.
The BBC are strongly pursuing Paralympic star Jonnie Peacock to become the next sporting celebrity on
Strictly Come Dancing.
The sprinter, who won 100 metres gold at London 2012 and Rio 2016, and raced to victory again at last week’s World Para Athletics Championships, would be the first athlete with a disability to appear on the BBC’s flagship, prime-time Saturday show.
German Paralympian heinrich Popow, another gold medalwinning 100m blade runner, proved a popular choice in his country’s equivalent competition
Let’s Dance earlier this year. Peacock joining the Strictly line-up would add a new dimension to the programme and take his profile and that of Paralympic sport to another level.
It’s understood that 24-year-old Peacock wanted no distractions from Strictly before the World Championships in London, having missed the 2015 Worlds in Doha through injury.
But with another gold medal safely bagged, he is expected to agree to be part of the 2017
Strictly cast — a challenge which suits his schedule because he plans to take an extended break from the track.
Peacock has already shown a willingness to explore opportunities away from athletics by being the cover star of gay magazine Attitude. The full list of contestants will not be named until nearer the start of the 15th series, which is broadcast in the autumn, and a BBC spokeswoman said yesterday they never comment on speculation about the line-up.
The launch show is scheduled for September 5 followed by a break for the dancers to train with their professional partners.
Sport has been a regular recruitment ground for the competition since rugby’s Martin Offiah took part in series one in 2004. It has provided past winners in cricketers Darren Gough (2005) and Mark Ramprakash (2006), as well as gymnast Louis Smith (2012).
Other sports stars who have appeared over the 14 series include Denise Lewis, Peter Schmeichel, Willie Thorne, John Barnes, Kenny Logan, Joe Calzaghe, Peter Shilton, Robbie Savage, Ben Cohen, Michael Vaughan and Greg Rutherford.
Peacock’s victory in the T44 100m in 2012 in a record 10.90sec was the stand-out moment of the London Paralympics, with a capacity crowd in Stratford chanting his name.
he contracted meningitis aged five leading to the amputation of one leg below the knee. Others rumoured to have received invites to appear on the latest Strictly include singers Matt Goss and Olly Murs, broadcaster Angela Scanlon, astronaut Tim Peake, athlete Paula Radcliffe, TV presenter Anne Robinson and actress Martine McCutcheon.