Steph McGovern opens up about Strictly Come Dancing future

Steph McGovern attens Virgin Media TV BAFTAs in May 2022.
Steph McGovern has teased she would love to go on Strictly. (Image credit: Dave J Hogan/Getty Images)

Steph McGovern has revealed she'd "love" to do Strictly Come Dancing during a rare interview.

The journalist and presenter is no stranger to TV, having previously worked on BBC Breakfast as their business presenter before moving on to host her self-titled Channel 4 daytime show Steph's Packed Lunch.

But will she be taking to the Strictly Come Dancing 2023 stage? Sadly not, because she has revealed it's "never been the right time" and she's got family commitments that make it difficult.

However, she's open to the idea so she hasn't completely ruled it out, so we could be seeing her in later seasons of the dancing competition.

During a recent interview with Prima magazine, Steph said: "I'd love to be a contestant on Strictly Come Dancing, but it's never been the right time to do it. I can't do it now because I have the show and I don't want to be away from my daughter, but I'm hoping it will still be going in years to come."

Steph McGovern

Steph McGovern hosts Channel 4's Steph's Packed Lunch. (Image credit: Channel 4)

Speaking a bit about her family life, she revealed that dance is incorporated into daily routines and she enjoys "kitchen discos" with her daughter, which could double up as some great Strictly training.

Steph revealed: "Our house is really fun, and full of love and laughter. We don’t take ourselves too seriously.

"We especially love our kitchen discos. I film at lunchtime, so I get to take my daughter to and from nursery every day, which is unbelievably amazing. Then, when we get home, I purposely try not to look at my phone until she’s in bed.

She added: "We’ll just whack some music on and dance about for a bit."

Strictly Come Dancing 2023 is yet to announce any contestants, but we've had a number of rumoured names that might be taking part in this year's series.

TV legend Les Dennis has been "tipped" to join the programme and Stuart Broad has been rumoured to put on his dancing shoes after his shock cricket retirement.

But nothing is set in stone yet so we will just have to wait patiently to see who'll be competing for the glitterball trophy this time around.

Strictly Come Dancing returns to BBC One in the autumn.

Lucy Buglass
Senior Staff Writer

Lucy joined the WhatToWatch.com team in 2021, where she writes series guides for must-watch programmes, reviews and the latest TV news. Originally from Northumberland, she graduated from Oxford Brookes University with a degree in Film Studies and moved to London to begin a career writing about entertainment.

She is a Rotten Tomatoes approved film critic and has a huge passion for cinema. She especially loves horror, thriller and anything crime-related. Her favourite TV programmes include Inside No 9, American Horror Story, Stranger Things and Black Mirror but she is also partial to a quiz show or a bit of Say Yes to the Dress