Mo Farah has said he will never take part in Strictly Come Dancing, no matter how many requests he receives from the show’s producers.
The four-time Olympic champion was a rumoured contestant for the forthcoming series of the BBC flagship show, but said in a new interview that his four children would never forgive him if he danced on national TV.
“One thing I won’t be doing, whatever the state of my hip, is Strictly,” he said.
“I’ll tell you that straight. I’m a terrible dancer. My kids would never forgive me if I did it. They’re like, ‘Don’t embarrass us dad. Please don’t do it.’”
He told the i: “I used to be an OK dancer back in my uni days, but that’s about it. You’ll never see my in a sequined Lycra jumpsuit.”
Since Farah’s retirement, he has made several TV appearances, including on The Masked Singer, I’m a Celebrity… Get Me Out of Here! and Taskmaster.
Several outlets had previously reported that Farah would be the perfect Strictly contestant, given his national fame after winning the 10,000m gold at the London 2012 Olympics.
The cast for this year’s Strictly series has since been announced, including the likes of presenter Vicky Pattison, Dutch football legend Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink, former England footballer Karen Carney and former British GB athlete Harry Aikines-Aryeetey.
Other contestants include Doctor Who star Alex Kingston, controversial Apprentice contestant Thomas Skinner, Emmerdale actor Lewis Cope and Ru Paul’s Drag Race star La Voix.
The new series will kick off on Saturday 20 September with the usual pre-recorded launch programme, which will see the new cohort of celebrities paired up with professional dance partners.
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The 2025 series is already proving to be controversial among some Strictly fans, following the casting of Thomas Skinner, who was seen socialising with US vice-president JD Vance at a barbecue during his visit to the Cotswolds this summer, during which time Skinner was pictured wearing a Maga cap.
Others have taken issue with Skinner’s recent X/Twitter posts, which state it is “not far-right” to be “flying your flag and loving your country”, and complaining “it ain’t safe out there any more” in London, saying the city is “hostile” and “tense”.
The first live show of the series will then air the following week. Find the full cast list here.
