Olympic gold swimmer breaks huge rule by confirming he’s signed up for Strictly before line-up is officially revealed
OLYMPIC swimmer Tom Dean has confirmed he has signed up for Strictly Come Dancing ahead of the official announcement.
The 24-year-old made his own announcement after reaching the final of the men’s 200 metres individual medley on Thursday night – a day after The Sun revealed he would be taking to the dance floor.
Stars of the show usually don’t comment on whether they are taking part until the official show line-up is revealed.
BBC bosses are known to go to great length to keep the name underwraps – including using code names and top secret locations for shooting.
But the three-time Olympic champion confirmed our story and said he plans to seek advice from Team GB teammate, Adam Peaty, who finished ninth on the BBC show in 2021, alongside professional dancer Katya Jones.
He said: “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.”
He continued: “I’ve not seen (Adam) yet. He did brilliantly on it so I’ll be getting a few tips from him, for sure.”
While Dean is one of the best swimmers the UK has produced, he admitted he is less assured of himself on dry land.
He added: “I don’t do too well out of water in gravity sports.
“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.
“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.”
Back in 2015, Scott Mills opened up about how hard BBC bosses try to keep the line-up secret.
The DJ, who appeared on the show that year said: “They’re so worried about it leaking out as to who’s on it, it’s like a massive secret.
“Obviously the papers try and guess all the time. They try and keep it under wraps so much, that they give everyone code names every year. I felt like I was in James Bond – it was so cool.”
Pro Graziano – who has left the show this year – also revealed that even the dancers don’t know who is on the show.
He said: “I remember the first series I went to the office and on the wall were names of cheeses. I said, ‘What is that?’ They told me it was us! [The dancers and their secret celebrity partners.] I was Mozzarella.
“Every year they change the names. That year it was cheese. We don’t know anything until we meet the celebrity. They are so secretive.”
Tom, from Maidenhead, Berks, won two golds in the 2020 Tokyo Olympics in the 200m freestyle and the men’s 4x200m freestyle relay.
At the time, he was the first male British swimmer to win two gold Olympic medals at the same games in 113 years and was made an MBE in the 2022 New Year Honours.
Winning the relay on Tuesday night was another incredible achievement for Tom and his Team GB comrades — Duncan Scott, James Guy and Matthew Richards.
They were the first British team to have defended an Olympic relay title in swimming or athletics.
Tom is the latest swimmer to sign up for Strictly, with previous names including Adam Peaty in 2021 — who scooped a silver medal in the Paris games on Sunday night — as well as Mark Foster in 2008, Lauren Steadman in 2018, Ellie Simmonds in 2022, and Jody Cundy in 2023.
His announcement comes amid a storm of controversy over the treatment of contestants on the BBC show.
The results of an investigation, launched by the BBC following allegations made about Giovanni Pernice by former participant Amanda Abbington, will reportedly be published this week.
The 33-year-old Italian professional dancer has rejected allegations of “threatening or abusive behaviour” made by Sherlock actress Amanda, who was partnered with him in 2023 before he left the show.
Strictly 2024 line-up so far
Here are the names ready to head into the famous ballroom amid the chaos.
GK Barry – YouTuber
Dave Fishwick – Millionaire businessman
Chris McCausland – Comedian
Martin Roberts – Homes Under the Hammer host
Danny Cipriani – Retired rugby player
Roman Kemp – The One Show presenter
Hannah Waddingham – Ted Lasso star
Helen Worth – Coronation Street actress