'I DECIDED TO GO WITH WHATEVER THIS YEAR THREW AT ME'

THE CHALLENGE OF STRICTLY COME DANCING WASN'T QUITE WHAT TV PRESENTER ANGELA SCANLON HAD IN MIND WHEN SHE WROTE "SURPRISE ME" IN HER 2023 DIARY

-  LAUREN MORRIS

When Angela Scanlon was making her New Year’s resolutions, she decided 2023 would be the year of “yes” and wrote “surprise me” in her diary. So when she was asked to sign up to the 21st series of Strictly Come Dancing, she decided it was a sign. “I went into this year with the mentality of whatever is chucked at me, I’ll say yes,” she says. “It’s maybe a bit bigger than I was hoping for but I asked for it, so I’d better go with it.”

The 39-year-old Irish broadcaster is known for hosting BBC Two’s Your Home Made Perfect and her stints on The One Show. But she’ll be doing less talking and more dancing as she competes against the likes of comedian Les Dennis, Love Island’s Zara McDermott, West End star Layton Williams and Coronation Street’s Ellie Leach.

As we chat, she’s preparing for a week of rehearsals, having just learnt the identity of her pro partner, revealed as Carlos Gu in last night’s Strictly launch show.

“I felt like I was in limbo waiting to hear. Everyone kept saying, ‘Who do you want it to be?’ I didn’t want to say it out loud because if it didn’t happen, I’d have been quite devastated.”

Angela is thrilled to be partnered with Carlos and instantly felt invigorated by the energy that the professionals bring to the show.

She says, “When we met the professional dancers for the first time, the lead choreographer said, ‘Get ready – you’ll feel a difference when they’re in the room’. He was right. There’s quite a lift in energy.”