Steph McGovern Reveals How She Thinks She'd Fare In The Ballroom Amid Strictly Rumours

The Steph's Packed Lunch host has been rumoured to be at the top of Strictly Come Dancing bosses' wishlist.
Steph McGovern at the TV Baftas last month
Steph McGovern at the TV Baftas last month
Karwai Tang via Getty Images

Steph McGovern has shared how she thinks she’d get on in the Strictly Come Dancing ballroom.

On Monday, it was reported in The Sun that the Steph’s Packed Lunch presenter was at the top of Strictly bosses’ wish list for this year’s series, which will debut in the autumn.

They cited a “TV insider” who claimed that Steph was producers’ “perfect choice” for a contestant, also claiming she’d turned them down twice before.

Speaking to HuffPost UK last week, Steph admitted she had “no idea” how it would go down if she were to take part in Strictly.

“I never move the top part of my body when I’m dancing! I can only move my feet,” she revealed. “So I can crack out a Charlston I’m sure, and I might be OK at Salsa, but I’m not in the realms of AJ Odudu or John Whaite.

“They were mind-blowingly good and I knew that because I’d seen John dancing in the [Packed Lunch] studio before he ever went on Strictly and I was like ‘that boy has got snake hips’.”

Packed Lunch co-stars John Whaite and Steph McGovern
Packed Lunch co-stars John Whaite and Steph McGovern
Joseph Okpako via Getty Images

Later in the chat, she also said: “I love the show and so many of my mates have been on it and they’ve all loved it. If I do it, I want to totally commit to it and as things stand, it would be near on impossible. I would worry about my little girl and not seeing her for so long.

“It’s interesting because the very first time I was asked to do it was probably when I should have done it, but then I had a baby. I’ll always say never say never but I’d just want to give it my all if I ever do it.”

Steph remained somewhat more tight-lipped when she was put on the spot about the rumours during Monday’s edition of her live Channel 4 show.

Keeping a poker face, she told her fellow panellists Denise Van Outen and Strictly judge Anton Du Beke: “I’ve turned it down in the past, never say never.”

Anton then joked: “If you did Strictly Come Dancing now, after me asking you to dance it with me for about 12 years and you saying no, now that you’d dance it with one of the young, firm boys… I’d be your worst judge ever.”

Anton Du Beke
Anton Du Beke
Karwai Tang via Getty Images

Steph added: “It is funny – these rumours in the paper, you do wonder where they come from. Although I’ve been trying to get it out of Anton who’s going to be on it this year and he’s like ‘No, I’m not telling you!’.”

“Are we watching this space then, Steph?” Denise asked, to which the host reiterated: “Never say never.”

Read HuffPost UK’s exclusive interview with Steph here.

Steph’s Packed Lunch airs every weekday from 12.30pm on Channel 4.

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