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Louise Thomas
Editor
The first official Strictly Come Dancing contestant has been announced – and he’s already broken the show’s rules.
Just a few days after the alleged 2024 line-up was “revealed” in a “leak”, and in the aftermath of a behind-the-scenes bullying scandal, Olympic swimmer Tom Dean has revealed he will be taking to the dancefloor next month.
Dean will follow in the footsteps of Adam Peaty, who competed on the series in 2021.
The three-time champion, who has been competing in Paris, said on Thursday (1 August): Naturally you want to take a break after you’ve had a full Olympic cycle and the opportunity arose.
“I thought it would be really exciting to try something a bit different. I’ll be doing that and straight back into training after it. It’s something to look forward to.
“I’ve not seen (Peaty) yet. He did brilliantly on it so I’ll be getting a few tips from him, for sure.”
He shared the news after after reaching the final of the men’s 200 metres individual medley – but fans of Strictly will wonder if this constitutes as a rule break considering the BBC likes to announce participants in their own way.
In the run-up to the series launch in September, contestants are announced on chat shows and radio shows, with a dedicated post going live on social media. The process appears to be a carefully orchestrated one.
While Dean is one of the best swimmers this country has ever produced, he admitted he is less assured of himself on dry land.
“I don’t do too well out of water in gravity sports,” he added. “I’m throwing myself into it and I know what a hard day’s training is like so I’m looking forward to it. I guess we’ll find out.
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“It’s something to look forward to and once I finish this, back home, relax a bit with the family and then we crack on end of August time. It’s exciting.”
Dean won the men’s 200m freestyle title at Tokyo 2020 and, earlier this week, the 24-year-old from Bath, plus James Guy, Matt Richards and Duncan Scott made history in the men’s 4x200m freestyle relay final.
In winning gold, they became the first swimming team ever to defend an Olympic relay title with the same quartet.
The Independent has contacted the BBC for comment.
Additional reporting by Agencies
