Diane Abbott has said Jacqui Smith is "very brave" to take part on Strictly Come Dancing — and that she turned down the show because she has "no natural rhythm".
On Saturday it was revealed that Ms Smith, who served as Labour Home Secretary between 2007 and 2009, would be dancing alongside contestants including Nicola Adams and Bill Bailey in this year's series.
She will be the second leading Labour figure to appear on Strictly after Ed Ball's turn on the tiles in 2016.
Asked by Sophy Ridge on Sunday whether she had been ever been approached to take part, Ms Abbott said: “They have, and I turned them down. I couldn’t possibly do it. I think Jacqui’s very brave.”
When pressed on why she felt she could not do the show, the former Shadow Home Secretary joked: “Because you’ll be surprised to know I’m not someone with natural rhythm and I didn’t want it exposed to millions of television viewers.”
When asked by the Hackney Gazette about Mr Balls’ chances on the show in 2016, Ms Abbott revealed that she had been asked to appear on a number of reality TV programmes as well as Strictly.
“I’ve been offered Strictly, I’ve been offered the jungle, I’ve been offered Big Brother… but they’re not for me,” she said.
“To be honest, I was never a Strictly fan, but now I watch it every week, and if I can’t see it live, I always catch up on the iPlayer. But yes! I think Ed Balls can go all the way!”
The 2020 series will feature former boxer Ms Adams in the show's first ever same-sex dance pairing.
