Strictly for fun, Victoria gives dancing a whirl
THERE’S not much call for fancy footwork at the Velodrome.
As Victoria Pendleton knows, it’s simply a matter of pedalling as fast as you can.
But the Olympic gold medallist is taking her tentative first steps away from the world of cycling in the latest series of Strictly Come Dancing.
And in a bright purple sparkling costume that showed off her athletic figure, she is obviously enjoying every sequinned moment.
Miss Pendleton is in training of a very different kind as she leads the new crop of contestants in the BBC1 show this Saturday.
She is in rather glamorous company. Model Jerry Hall, 56, TV presenter and actress Denise van Outen, 38, and Girls Aloud singer Kimberley Walsh, 31, are among this year’s dancers.
Miss Pendleton, who also won silver at the London 2012 Games, impressed BBC executives with her open and often emotional on- screen presence when she made a documentary about her preparations for the Olympics.
Revelations of her heartache at the way she was treated after falling in love with Team GB cycling coach Scott Gardner means public interest in her has never been higher.
Insiders are already predicting this will be a vintage year for the show with former England cricket captain Michael Vaughan, and Miss Pendleton’s fellow Team GB athlete, gymnast Louis Smith, 23, giving the dancefloor a whirl.
James Bond actor Colin Salmon, 49, and former children’s TV star Danielle Harmer, 23, have also joined the lineup. Former Emmerdale actress Lisa Riley, 36, and EastEnders actor Sid Owen, 40, will strut their stuff along with Westlife singer Nicky Byrne and TV presenters Fern Britton, 55, and Johnny Ball, who at 74 is the oldest competitor. All will be paired up with their professional dance partners on Saturday’s launch show, to be hosted by Sir Bruce Forsyth and Tess Daly.
The couples then have three weeks off air to prepare for the first live programme.
The opening show will start at 6.30pm to avoid a clash with The X Factor on ITV. X Factor bosses will be hoping to avoid the two shows going head to head as it is already suffering a ratings slump with under eight million viewers.
Former Royal Ballet prima ballerina Darcey Bussell is joining Len Goodman, Bruno Tonioli, and Craig Revel Horwood on the Strictly judging panel.
Johnny Ball follows daughter Zoe on to the show. She came third in the 2005 series and now hosts the spin-off programme It Takes Two which goes behind the scenes of Strictly and examines the gossip on contestants. ‘She is over the moon with excitement,’ Ball said. ‘I know that on It Takes Two she will be as impartial as it is possible to be for a girl who loves her dad.’