Strictly Come Dancing 2016 lineup: Ed Balls set to show off his ballroom moves
Balls has demonstrated his dad dancing at past Labour Party events
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Your support makes all the difference.Ed Balls is set to go from shadow cabinet to showstopper as he dons his dancing shoes for a whirl around the Strictly Come Dancing ballroom.
The former shadow chancellor is joining the new line-up of celebrities for the upcoming 14th series of the Saturday night dancing competition, according to The Mirror.
If true, Balls will be the first male politician to compete on the show, other than Liberal Democrat Vince Cable’s one-off Christmas special appearance. Politicians Edwina Currie and Ann Widdecombe have both waltzed in a bid to win the coveted Glitter Ball trophy in past series.
Balls was first tipped for Strictly after losing his seat as an MP at the general election, but his wife, former shadow home secretary and current MP Yvette Cooper, ruled him out, joking at a press lunch that it would clash with “filming in the jungle”. Sadly, Balls is yet to appear on I’m a Celebrity…Get Me Out of Here! but Cooper did say in 2014 that she would love to join Strictly herself, despite having “cloggy time-step”.
The 49-year-old is a favourite on social media after famously tweeting his own name by mistake on 28 April 2011. Ed Balls Day is celebrated annually, with Balls even baking an impressive cake to mark the occasion this year.
Balls has a memoir, Speaking Out - Lessons in Life and Politics, coming out this September, making a turn on Strictly more likely. He plays competitively in the MPs versus journalists football matches and has been snapped dancing like nobody’s watching at Labour Party events, but said last year that he does not think he is “quite equipped” for the physical demands of the series. “Three marathons means I’m fit but am I really fit enough for Strictly?” he said. “When you look at it, the people who succeed on Strictly tend to be half my age and to have played international sport or been at stage school and on the stage.”.
Other celebrities rumoured to be joining Balls in wearing far too many sequins include TV presenter Laura Whitmore, Eternal singer Louise Redknapp, Birds of a Feather actor Lesley Joseph and X Factor winner Will Young.
Last month, head Strictly judge Len Goodman announced that the next series will be his “swan-song”, with professional dancer Anton Du Beke the favourite to replace him.
Strictly Come Dancing returns this autumn on BBC One, with the BBC yet to comment on line-up speculation.
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