Strictly Come Dancing contestant and ex-cabinet minister Ed Balls fears his hips may not be up to jiving as he admitted his appearance on the show is part of a mid-life crisis.
The 49-year-old former Labour heavyweight, who lost his seat in last year’s general election, said he wants to show that politicians are human.
Ed said he misses the purpose of politics and now needs to try new things.
“Definitely a mid-life crisis, but I think you’ve got to embrace it and enjoy it,” he told BBC Radio Four’s Today programme.
“I’m quite worried about the jive because my hips don’t really move in quite the right way, but I have a great professional partner, and I have three weeks to train.
“But it’s a chance to say that politics is about human beings, and that those of us that come out of politics, in my sort of retirement phase, can do things that are quite exciting.
“We’ll get to see whether I can do something big again in the future, but in the mean time, what could possibly be bigger than going on Strictly?”
He is one of 15 celebrities lined up to take part in the new series of Strictly, which kicks off on BBC One at 6.50pm on Saturday.
