Jeremy Vine is first celebrity confirmed for Strictly Come Dancing

Sequins and glitter may not be his usual choice of attire but BBC Radio 2 presenter Jeremy Vine will be wearing a lot of it after being announced as the first contestant for the new series of Strictly Come Dancing.

On the show, Jeremy told listeners: “How could I say no to the biggest show in TV?”

“Three weeks ago, I only told my daughters and my wife”. It seems Dad on Strictly is more scary than Doctor Who!’ said Jeremy, 50.

Jeremy Vine will be swapping his swing-o-meter for swing dancing after being confirmed for the new series of Strictly Come Dancing.

He added that his love of music was partly fuelled by one of his listeners who gave him her entire Beatles vinyl collection, which he still owns.

Aside from his DJ-ing duties, Vine also presents BBC One’s “Points of View” on Sunday afternoons and BBC Two’s weekday evening quiz programme “Eggheads“.

In July, bookies named weather reporter Carol as one of the favourites to sign up to the show, offering odds of just 1/6.

In a blog post published after the announcement, Vine divulged his reasons for joining the show, saying: “I truly, madly, deeply want to learn to dance”.

Jamie and Louise Redknapp are both believed to be in advanced talks with BBC bosses.

He said: “I had to find a stair case I didn’t know existed and I had to wear a box with a question mark on it”.

Richard is another bookies’ favourite.

TV presenter Adrian Chiles has been linked to the new series, with the show being his next move.

Jeremy’s children are 11 and eight years old and huge fans of the series, which has seen the likes of Caroline Flack, Abbey Clancy and Harry Judd lift the glitterball trophy.