大象传媒

Oops - Has the first Strictly celeb just been revealed?

Tom Dean receives his Olympic gold medal with his teammates after winning in the men's 4x200m freestyle relay final.Image source, Getty Images
Image caption,

Tom Dean (2nd left) receives his Olympic gold medal with his teammates after winning in the men's 4x200m freestyle relay final

Team GB British swimmer Tom Dean has said he will be one of the celebs to compete in this year's Strictly Come Dancing line-up.

Dean won gold in the men鈥檚 4x200m freestyle at the Paris Olympics earlier this week.

"Naturally you want to take a break after you've had a full Olympic cycle and the [Strictly] opportunity arose," he said.

"I thought it would be really exciting to try something a bit different."

The 大象传媒 has not confirmed Dean's appearance, and a spokesperson said "celebrity contestants for this year will be announced in due course".

Contestants are usually officially named on 大象传媒 TV or radio shows.

Strictly: Who is Tom Dean?

Image source, Getty Images

Tom Dean is a three-time Olympic champion and will be the ninth swimmer to take part in the dancing show.

Deans says he will ask for advice from fellow British swimmer Adam Peaty, who finished ninth on the dance show in 2021.

"I've not seen [Adam] yet. He did brilliantly on it so I'll be getting a few tips from him, for sure."

At this year's Olympics Dean, James Guy, Matt Richards and Duncan Scott all made history in the men's 4x200m freestyle relay final in Paris - becoming the first swimming team with the same members to defend an Olympic relay title.

Recent Strictly controversy

Ahead of this year's competition, Strictly has announced changes into how celebs and their professional dance partners will train.

It follows a series of high profile allegations over inappropriate behaviour and training techniques which saw pro dancers, Giovanni Pernice and Graziano Di Prima leave the line-up of Strictly dancers.

Graziano wrote on social media that he "deeply regrets" the events leading up to his departure and that his "intense passion and determination to win" may have affected his training regime.

Giovanni has said that he was surprised by the allegations and rejected "any suggestion of abusive or threatening behaviour".

The 大象传媒 has confirmed that a member of the production team will be present at rehearsals at all times and two new producers will be looking after both the celebrities and dancer's welfare.