Derren Brown: 'I turned down Strictly offer'

Derren Brown has revealed that he turned down an offer to compete on Strictly Come Dancing.

The illusionist confirmed to Heat that he used to dance when he was younger and was later approached to appear on the BBC One celebrity reality TV contest.

Brown said: "I politely declined. I'd be terrified of being s**t. I never took it that seriously. I just thought it was fun. All I really knew was the routines I was doing. I didn't develop general dancing skills."

Of his reputation as a 'champion' ballroom dancer, he added: "I'd hesitate to use the word 'champion'. At university level, maybe.

"Doing it pretty much killed any love I had for dancing. It's very contained and regulated - or at least that was my experience of it. Once I started doing ballroom dancing, I lost the ability to just relax and dance."

MasterChef duo Gregg Wallace and John Torode recently confirmed that they would like to compete on Strictly Come Dancing.

> Ten Things About... Derren Brown