Clary Ready To Rhumba on Strictly Come Dancing
Julian Clary has signed up for the new series of Strictly Come Dancing.
Camp comic Julian, 45, agreed to cut a rug for the cameras because he fancied "dancing with a woman for a change".
The second series of the BBC's ballroom dancing hit will see Julian getting ready to rhumba against Esther Rantzen, Carol Vorderman and a brace of stars from the worlds of sport, television and entertainment.
And for the first time contestants will face a public and studio vote in the first week, so the pressure is on for the celebrities and their professional dance partners.
Esther, who presented That's Life for more than 20 years, is delighted to be hoofing for the cameras.
"This is a brilliant show and the most enormous fun," she said. "I was gob-smacked."
Former child star Aled Jones, actress Jill Halfpenny (who plays Kate Mitchell in EastEnders), motoring motor-mouth Quentin Wilson and TV gardener Diarmuid Gavin are among the stars putting on their boogie shoes for the show, which airs next month.
Aled, best known for singing Walking In The Air for Raymond Briggs' cartoon The Snowman, said he is looking forward to "the opportunity to make a fool of myself".
Meanwhile, Countdown's numbers whiz Carol Vorderman is just glad of the professional expertise.
"I'd been saying to friends how I'd wanted to take dance lessons for some time but couldn't fit it in with work, so this is the best of both worlds," she said.
Bruce Forsyth will once again present the show, along with Tess Daly and last year's winner, BBC Breakfast presenter Natasha Kaplinsky.
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