Danny John-Jules announced for Strictly Come Dancing 2018 (Picture: PA)

Danny John-Jules has been confirmed as the third contestant for Strictly Come Dancing 2018.

Danny said: ‘Having spent the last few months on two wheels motorcycling around South America in pink leathers, I’m absolutely delighted to be getting back on two feet and into something more comfortable like glittery spandex.’

The announcement was made on The One Show on Monday evening alongside confirmation that Steps’ star Faye Tozer would also be joining the show.

Danny John-Jules as Cat, left, in Red Dwarf (Picture: UK TV)

Faye and Danny will join Katie Piper, who was the first celebrity confirmed for the new series.


Danny starred as the Cat in the sci-fi cult series Red Dwarf; he has no dance experience but revealed that he had appeared in a Wham! music video in the 1980s.



He is also known to audiences as policeman Dwayne Myers in the long running BBC hit crime drama, Death In Paradise and Barrington in the BBC comedy Maid Marian And Her Merry Men.

Appearing on BBC Breakfast, Katie Piper admitted that it took her ‘a while to say yes because it’s something way out of my comfort zone’.

‘The only person I told was my husband and he thought I was joking,’ she said.

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Faye also apologised to lying to family and friends, but said she was ready for the costumes, the huge hair, the make up, and he themed nights’.

‘I don’t have any ballroom experience,’ she added, ‘so I am excited to get my teeth in to that.’

Strictly will start filming this month, with the rest of the names to be announced across the next two weeks ahead of the series’ red carpet launch at the end of the month.

The final three contestants have in previous years been revealed on a special episode of The One Show, although tonight’s confirmations of Faye and Danny on the magazine show suggests the Beeb may be breaking away from tradition.

Preparations for the series are already underway, with the pro dancers heading back into rehearsals last Monday. This year’s line-up is tipped to include the likes of Corrie star Catherine Tyldesley, Capital DJ Vick Hope, Olympic diver Tom Daley, and Joe Sugg.

There’s no confirmed date for the series yet but the launch show – when the celebrities meet their pro partners for the first time – is likely to air in early September, with the main series beginning a few weeks later.

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