Sawtry star signs for Strictly

Peterborough paralympian Lauren Steadman will swap the triathlon for the Tango after signing up to Strictly Come Dancing.

Lauren, from Sawtry, is a double world para-triathlon champion, and will follow in fellow Peterborough stars Louis Smith and Aston Merrygold’s dancing steps on the hit BBC1 show.

Along with her world titles, she took a silver medal in the Paralympics in Rio in 2016, and also competed as a swimmer at Paralympics in Beijing and London.

The 25 year-old took to Twitter to make the announcement saying: “Couldn’t be more excited to be a contestant on this years @bbcstrictly

“The next few weeks will all be about the World Champs in Australia but then I’ll be back and ready to go! #Strictly”

Lauren’s dance partner on the show has not yet been announced.

Steadman was born in Peterborough, without her right forearm, and will be the second para-athlete to compete on the main series of the show, following on from Cambridgeshire sprinter Jonny Peacock last year.

This year she will join fellow sports stars cricketer Graeme Swann and rugby international Martin Bayfield, singers Lee Ryan and Ashley Roberts and actor Danny John-Jules in the attempt to win the Glitter Ball Trophy.

The first show is expected to be broadcast in September, with the series final due to be shown in December.

Lauren Steadman