'I’ve always gone for challenges outside my comfort zone'

Les Dennis has become the final celebrity contestant confirmed for the new series of Strictly Come Dancing.

The comic, who   Family Fortunes for 16 years, said: ‘I’m thrilled to be doing this iconic wonderful show as I approach my 70th birthday. In my career I’ve always gone for challenges outside my comfort zone and this is the ultimate one. Can’t wait.’

Dennis started his 50-year career as a comedian on the Working Men’s Club circuit in and around his native Liverpool. He got his big break on TV Talent show New Faces, and went on to star in sketch and variety show The Laughter Show, forming a double act with the late Dustin Gee.

His other TV credits  include  roles in Extras, Brookside, Death in Paradise and Midsomer Murders and two years in Coronation Street. On stage, he’s appeared with the Royal Shakespeare Company, the English National Opera, and in hit plays and musicals such as Hairspray, Legally Blonde and Only Fools And Horses.

News that Dennis was joining the 21st series this autumn was revealed on ITV’s Good Morning Britain today – when he revealed he almost let the cat out of the bag a week early when he accidentally tweeted a playlist titled Strictly by Les Dennis that hade been meant for  producers.

Others taking part include comic Eddie Kadi, tennis commentator Annabel Croft, newsreader Krishnan Guru-Murthy, Bad Education star Layton Williams and Angela Rippon, who hosted the show’s precursor, Come Dancing.

Published: 11 Aug 2023