Single ladies of Canada, prepare to swoon. His father’s a senator, he went to an exclusive private school and he played professional football after attending Queen’s University. The producers of Canada’s version of The Bachelor went for the slam dunk with the star of their first season.

CFL free agent Brad Smith was revealed as the Bachelor live on Breakfast Television Tuesday morning. Citytv aired a pretaped interview between the 28-year-old and CityLine host Tracy Moore. Smith will be the first man to have a group of bachelorettes, who are yet to be revealed, vying for the final red rose in the Canadian version of the popular ABC reality series The Bachelor.

It was a safe choice, says Murtz Jaffer, who calls himself “the world’s foremost reality television expert.”

“The decision to do a celebrity player was one that they had to make,” said Jaffer. “I don’t think that you can bank the first season of a show like The Bachelor, the Canadian version, with an everyman because we don’t know what the show is yet.”

But he was surprised they chose someone who wasn’t immediately recognizable. Jaffer had expected someone like Ben Mulroney (if he were single), Top Chef Canada finalist Rob Rossi or a Blue Jays player. He said Smith tows the line between celebrity and unknown.

Those who know him best say it was the perfect choice.

“I don’t know who else they would have picked. It’s perfect. He’s made for TV,” said childhood friend Wilder Weir, who’s a co-host for CosmoTV.

“Nobody is surprised that Brad would end up being this. This is a Brad Smith-type thing to do,” Pat Sheahan, Smith’s former head coach at Queen’s University told the Star.

“He was one of those guys, kind of the golden boy from the time he arrived here: good-looking, extremely athletic, bright and well-spoken. I mean the kid’s got it all.”

Smith grew up in small-town Hudson, Que., and speaks French. He most recently played for the Edmonton Eskimos, but has also played for the Toronto Argonauts and Montreal Alouettes, and was a receiver on the Queen’s University football team in Kingston, Ont.

Brad Smith’s father, Larry Smith, is akin to Canadian football royalty. He’s a former Montreal Alouettes star running back, former commissioner of the league and former president of the Alouettes. He’s currently a Conservative member of the Senate, having been appointed by Prime Minister Stephen Harper in 2010.

“The family is happy and excited for Brad,” said Larry Smith. “Like everybody else who will be following the show, we’re going to be excited to see what happens.”

Brad is the youngest of the senator’s three children but is breaking free of his father’s shadow with the move from football to reality TV.

“When other players find out that he’s on the show he may be singled out for some ridicule: good-natured ribbing will probably be as bad as it gets,” said Dave Jamieson, vice-president of communications and broadcast for the Edmonton Eskimos.

Jamieson says Smith was well-liked by his teammates, describing him as a locker-room guy who lightened the mood. “I hope he does the club and the league and himself proud,” he added.

Former coach Sheahan said Smith’s professional football career has probably come to an end and this is a great next step for him.

The Bachelor is one of the most successful reality shows on television and its producers are known for making safe choices said Jaffer, often from former contestants on spinoff show The Bachelorette. The series has a history of oscillating between the average Joe Bachelor and the sophisticate, from tire company heirs to bass fishermen. They got a bit of both with the little-known football player.

Some potential fans of the show were disappointed with the choice. More than 45 per cent of respondents on a star.com poll said the new Bachelor wasn’t their type.

“We could not have hoped for a more well-rounded and genuine person to kick off the first season,” said Claire Freeland, director of original programming for Rogers Media and executive producer of The Bachelor Canada.

“He is definitely a looker,” said Oakville native Jessie Sulidis, who competed on the U.S. Bachelor and the spinoff Bachelor Pad. “But, I hope he has a fun, outgoing personality to host an entire season. He has a lot of pressure on him because it’s the first season, so when in doubt go shirtless — he can definitely pull that off.”

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Weir said Smith can handle being the first Bachelor and carrying the show to a second season. “Brad’s just got a very light sense of humour and an easygoing sensibility, so I think he can definitely handle the pressure,” said Weir. It’s the 25 women breathing down Smith’s neck that might be hard for him. Weir said Smith is a romantic, so there’s definitely a chance he might even find the one.

“I’m extremely honoured to be chosen as Canada’s first Bachelor. I take this experience very seriously and I truly believe in the process,” said Smith in a release.

Casting for the show is complete and production on the nine-episode series is already underway. The Bachelor Canada will premiere on Citytv this fall. The identity of the host and 25 bachelorettes will be announced at a later date.