Alex Kingston: Strictly stigma stopped me doing it for 20 years
India McTaggart
The Daily Telegraph online
Actress says her agent would not allow her to take part previously because she does Shakespeare
Alex Kingston: ‘I think people are more generous now in terms of their opinions about Strictly’
Alex Kingston has claimed that a “stigma” about theatre actors taking part in Strictly Come Dancing stopped her doing the show for 20 years.
The Bafta-nominated actress, 62, said she was forced to turn the show down in the past “because I do Shakespeare”.
But she said she was allowed to take part after “banging on” about competing for 20 years.
Speaking at a press conference ahead of the start of the next series, she said: “It’s funny because I’ve been asked in the past and at that time, my agent always said, ‘No, you can’t do it, you can’t do it’.
“And now I think it’s just that I’ve got to a certain stage in my life where he’s like, ‘If you want to do it, Alex…’ because I’ve been wanting to do it for 20 years.”
The thespian, who returned to the Royal Shakespeare Company in 2023 to play Prospero in The Tempest, added: “I think there’s been for a long time…a sort of stigma around Strictly and popular television.
“And if you’re a theatre actor, theatre actors don’t participate, which is silly. And it’s not true.”
Kingston, who is also known for her television roles in ER and Doctor Who, said: “I think people are more generous now in terms of their opinions about Strictly.”
She cited the show’s longevity and the fact that “you’re seeing more actors just going ‘sod it, I want to do it’.
“And we’re all popular,” she added. “Shakespeare wrote plays for the populists, he didn’t write for a certain level of society, so it’s a way of connecting with your audience.”
The actress will be taking part in the new series alongside TV presenters, soap actors, sporting professionals and social media stars.
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Also within the mix is former Apprentice star Thomas Skinner, 34, who stirred up early controversy by walking out of the Elstree Studios press conference early after grabbing a journalist’s phone.
The entrepreneur later apologised for the abrupt walkout, saying he was provoked by something he had seen on the journalist’s phone which “caught him off guard”.
He had also made headlines in August after he was pictured with JD Vance at a barbecue during the US vice-president’s trip to the Cotswolds.
Speaking before he left the event, Skinner said Mr Vance had probably got “far, far more important matters in America” than to watch him perform in the show.
When asked why he was taking part he said that it was his mother’s favourite show and that he wants to “learn how to dance”.
“It’s a family show, so I can say to my kids, my girls, as they get older, I’ve done it – and to prove my mates wrong,” he added. “I can have a go and learn a bit of dancing.”
‘Do things you’ll never regret’
Meanwhile, Kingston said she is in favour of taking part and “doing things you’ll never regret”.
She said: “I did have to think about it because I know that it’s going to be really challenging, and we’re all going to be pushed really to the edge and beyond our comfort zone.
“But that’s what life’s for, isn’t it? It. Just jumping in, going for it.”
ITV presenter Ross King, 63, admitted he had to ask Lorraine before saying yes to competing in Strictly this year.
He said: “I’ve had talks before but I never had the opportunity to come back from LA for this length of time. Things all changed around this time and I was able to go to ITV and say ‘look can I do my stuff from here?’.
“I don’t know, it could be a very short amount of time before I go back to LA, and so this time they were great and Lorraine herself was just wonderful.
“She was the first person that I called and said ‘Look I’ve been asked to do this’ and she took a breath and then she went, ‘Twinkle toes? Yes’.”
Meanwhile professional Strictly dancer Dianne Buswell and YouTube star Joe Sugg announced on Sunday that they are expecting their first child together.
The couple met on the BBC One show when they were paired during the 16th series in 2018.
Buswell, 36, and Sugg, 34, shared a video to Instagram which showed them painting on a canvas.
After multiple strokes with their brush they unveiled their masterpiece, which depicted two stick figures holding the hands of a smaller stick figure alongside the date “2026”.