Strictly Come Dancing: Mollie King first contestant named for new series - BBC News
Mollie King, singer with The Saturdays, is to take part in this year's dancing show.
Mollie King said she was 'so excited' to be on the show

Mollie King is the first celebrity dancer confirmed to be taking part in the new series of Strictly Come Dancing.

The singer from The Saturdays said she was "so excited" to be a contestant in the dancing competition.

She told Nick Grimshaw on Radio 1's breakfast show she always watched the show with her family and added that she "can't wait to get into the sequins".

The new series starts on BBC One next month.

King said: "I'm a huge fan of Strictly Come Dancing so I can't actually believe I'm lucky enough to be taking part in it this year! I'm literally so excited to learn Latin and ballroom dancing, and of course I can't wait to get into the sequins too!

"It's going to be a lot of hard work but I'm ready for the challenge."

Mollie King, second right, performing with The Saturdays

The 30-year-old told Grimmie it had been tough to keep news of her involvement a secret.

She had previously only told her parents and bandmate Frankie Bridge, who made it to the final of Strictly three years ago.

This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser. Mollie King tells Grimmie how excited she is to be on Strictly

King said: "It's something that I always said I wanted to do. I've always watched it with my family and it looks so fun.

"I'm going to be giving it my all. I'm very competitive so watch out, other contestants, I'm taking you down!"

She added that she would be up for having a "cheeky spray tan" and wearing sparkles, saying it was a chance to be a "princess".

King said she was starting training soon - and that she hoped she would not be voted out in the first week.

This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser. The moment the Strictly Come Dancing 2016 champions found out they won.

She also said she was a huge Britney Spears fan and would love to dance to her music on the show.

This year's contestants have all been given code names relating to classical Greece, with King's being Clio, one of the nine muses.

This Twitter post cannot be displayed in your browser. Please enable Javascript or try a different browser. View original content on Twitter The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. Skip twitter post by Ore Oduba This article contains content provided by Twitter. We ask for your permission before anything is loaded, as they may be using cookies and other technologies. You may want to read Twitter’s cookie policy, external and privacy policy, external before accepting. To view this content choose ‘accept and continue’. The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites.

Ore Oduba, who lifted the glitterball trophy with Joanne Clifton at the end of the last series, tweeted his support of King, writing: "Mollie from the Saturdays @bbcstrictly Contestant NUMBER ONE!!!!!! Good luck @MollieKing Class of 2017, over to you. Ride of your life!"

Clifton has since revealed she is leaving the show to pursue a career in musicals.

There are three new dancers joining Strictly: Amy Dowden, from South Wales, Australian Dianne Buswell and Nadiya Bychkova from Ukraine.

There is also a new judge as Shirley Ballas joins the panel, taking over from head judge Len Goodman.

The names of the other celebrities taking part in Strictly are to be revealed in the coming weeks.

Follow us on Facebook, on Twitter @BBCNewsEnts, or on Instagram at bbcnewsents. If you have a story suggestion email entertainment.news@bbc.co.uk.
• None Who is the new Strictly Come Dancing judge?