James Haskell reveals how marriage to Chloe Madeley made him turn down Strictly

James Haskell divulged that he was offered a spot on BBC Strictly Come Dancing, but his then-marriage to Chloe Madeley meant that he chose to face the trials of I’m a Celebrity instead

James Haskell, 39, has revealed that instead of entering the jungle, he could have been in the ballroom.

The former England rugby pro competed on I'm a Celebrity... Get Me Out of Here! back in 2019, but shared that the BBC also offered him a place in Strictly Come Dancing .

At the time, James was married to Chloe Madeley , 37, and his vows ultimately ended up stopping him from donning his dancing shoes. The exes tied the knot in 2018, before calling it quits last year . Early on in the marriage, however, James put Chloe first when deciding between the two shows.

“I did it because it was a mega show,” James told Spin Genie of his choice to enter I’m a Celeb. He added, “I've been asked to do Strictly.”

He then explained that his marriage to Chloe made him think twice about going on Strictly, with fears of what the Strictly Curse might mean for his relationship. He shared, “I didn't think I was going to be good at dancing and then there's obviously the Strictly curse and I was married so it just wasn’t a good idea at the time, trying to pretend to be sexy with someone for 12 hours a day, every day. I think it would’ve been a disaster. So I just decided that I'm a Celeb was the best thing for me. No rugby player had ever done it so I thought, why not?”

James lasted 17 days in the jungle, and placed 9th despite his competitive streak. EastEnders star Jacqueline Jossa ended up winning the crown, and James gushed over her determination despite facing some cringeworthy challenges.

“Every time she got a challenge she would have a meltdown but then she smashed it. She surprised herself and people love a plucky and brave person. She was really lovely and it all kind of came out as a really nice kind of story, and she was ultimately brilliant and an amazing queen of the jungle,” he said,

The sportsman also revealed whether or not we could expect to see him on Strictly now that he’s single, but admitted, “You know what? I don’t think I could because of my physical limitations - my ankles are so bad.” Although James counted himself out of a foxtrotting future, however, he hinted that he could be tempted to be on our screens again soon.

“I would definitely do reality TV again. I'd be really keen to do it. I just think some of the formats have been done to death now and I would like to do something that was slightly different. Loads of rugby players have done Strictly and I just think it’s a bit of a minefield at the moment with everything that’s going on there. I’d love to do Celebrity SAS. I'm just a massive show off and performer,” he divulged.

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