Johnny Ball to becomes Strictly's oldest dancer

Johnny Ball to becomes Strictly's oldest dancer
Johnny Ball to becomes Strictly's oldest dancer (Image credit: PA Archive/Press Association Ima)

Johnny Ball will be swapping numbers for rhumbas to become the oldest contestant to star in Strictly Come Dancing. The 74-year-old follows his daughter Zoe on to the show after she came third in the 2005 series, and she has since gone on to be the host of spin-off show It Takes Two. The veteran children's presenter is known to a generation of viewers for his TV shows such as Think Of A Number and Think Again, and he was formerly a host of long-running kids' show Play School. He is said to have looked 'sprightly' during rehearsals for the show which returns to BBC One in just over a fortnight. Johnny is two years older than Paul Daniels when he graced the dancefloor two years ago. A show source said: "Everyone thinks he is a really great booking and there is a great affection for him." The series will also feature former England cricket captain Michael Vaughan and other contestants are said to include Girls Aloud singer Kimberley Walsh and Westlife's Nicky Byrne. Gold medal-winning Olympic cyclist Victoria Pendleton has expressed an interest in appearing on the show. Last year's Strictly was won by McFly star Harry Judd.

Patrick McLennan

Patrick McLennan is a London-based journalist and documentary maker who has worked as a writer, sub-editor, digital editor and TV producer in the UK and New Zealand. His CV includes spells as a news producer at the BBC and TVNZ, as well as web editor for Time Inc UK. He has produced TV news and entertainment features on personalities as diverse as Nick Cave, Tom Hardy, Clive James, Jodie Marsh and Kevin Bacon and he co-produced and directed The Ponds, which has screened in UK cinemas, BBC Four and is currently available on Netflix. 


An entertainment writer with a diverse taste in TV and film, he lists Seinfeld, The Sopranos, The Chase, The Thick of It and Detectorists among his favourite shows, but steers well clear of most sci-fi.