Andrew Neil has been asked to appear on 'Strictly Come Dancing'.
Andrew Neil
The 72-year-old broadcaster was approached by producers earlier this month and though he's snubbed approaches from the show in the past, friends of the journalist - who quit the BBC last year after 25 years - are "trying to persuade him" to make a bid for the iconic Glitterball trophy.
A source told The Sun on Sunday newspaper: “Andrew was flattered by the request from Strictly and thinks the idea of him prancing around a ballroom in sequins is hilarious.
“He was asked to take part in the show four years ago, too, but turned it down.
“Now his mates are trying to persuade him to accept.
“It will at least keep him in the public eye and help to promote his profile.
“It’s not often he ventures away from serious news projects and he has a lot on his plate. 'Strictly' has become the number one show for so many political figures and Andrew is one of the biggest names.”
A spokesperson for the show - which has previously seen the likes of Natasha Kaplinsky, Kate Silverton and John Sergeant take part - declined to comment on approaching Andrew.
The representative said: “We aren’t commenting on speculation of names.”
Andrew currently has plenty of time to start rehearsing for the show as he announced a few days ago that he's stepping down from GB News just weeks after he helped launch the channel.
He said as he closed his show on Thursday night (24.06.21): "That’s it for tonight and from me for the next few weeks.
"But I leave you in the safe and professional hands of Colin Brazier."
Despite this, Andrew insisted he won't be staying off the channel for too long.
He added: "I’ll be back before the summer is out and when you least expect it, so stay tuned."
Andrew acknowledged that GB News has encountered a host of issues in its first few weeks on air, but he also spoke positively about the channel's long-term future.
He said: "Before I take this break, let me say this: yes, we had a bit of a rocky start with the launch of GB News.
"We’re a start-up, they’re always a bit rocky these start-ups. But we are up and running as you can see, we get better every day and there’s clearly an appetite for what we’re doing.
"And in two short weeks, we’ve already built a loyal audience which has beaten all of our expectations, it’s often bigger than the other news channels and it’s growing."
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