Richard Madeley rules out Strictly Come Dancing

Richard Madeley would never do ‘Strictly Come Dancing’ because he’s a "worse" dancer than James Cracknell.
The former ‘This Morning’ presenter has ruled out taking part in the BBC One ballroom and Latin contest because he insists he doesn’t have any dancing ability whatsoever and would struggle with the moves much more than the former Olympic rower, who was the first to leave the show this series.
Richard told The Sun newspaper’s Bizarre TV column: "I cannot dance.
"If I thought I was a bit of a mover — if I could actually do it — then I would do ‘Strictly’ because it’s a fantastic show and I can see why people want to do it. But I’d be worse than James Cracknell.
"If James is asking if that could have gone any worse, then yes, it could have been — it could have been me.
"I just cannot move. Some have it dormant and it can be lit, I just do not have any ­dancing feet."
It’s a good job Richard has no desire to hit the dancefloor, as his wife Judy Finnigan has "banned" him from ‘Strictly’ anyway.
The 71-year-old author – who has been married to Richard since 1986 – previously revealed she and their children Chloe, 32, and Jack, 33, would find it a total embarrassment if he appeared on the programme.
She said: "The idea of him doing ‘Strictly’ for me and the kids was just so spine-tinglingly embarrassing. We’ve banned him."
Judy – who presented ITV’s ‘This Morning’ with Richard from 1988 to 2001 and their own daily chat show ‘Richard & Judy’ from 2001 to 2009 – also ruled herself out of the competition due to ruptured cruciate ligaments.
However, Judy confessed Richard would go ahead without asking her permission if he really wanted to do it.
She said: "He wouldn’t ask me if he should do it. He might mention it – there would be a huge collective sigh around the table. ‘Oh no, oh no, you’re not going to do that are you?’ I’d be saying, ‘Oh no, oh no, please don’t."