Rhys Stephenson is disappointed Bill Bailey danced as a Pokemon on 'Strictly Come Dancing' before he could do a similar routine.
Rhys Stephenson
The CBBC presenter - who is set to complete against the likes of McFly's Tom Fletcher and 'Peep Show' star Robert Webb on the new series of the Latin and ballroom competition - admitted while he was a big fan of last year's winner, he wish he'd been able to beat the comedian to the punch.
Speaking to BANG Showbiz and assembled media, he said: "With Will Bayley, I was a fan but I was also furious because he got to be Pokemon.
“I was like, of all the people that should have been me! But you know what? He did a great job.
“That Poke-Doble was phenomenal, it was great. I just wish that I could have been the one to do it. But you know what? He held his own.”
The kid's TV star revealed he plans to show his "serious" side on the show, but he still wants to embrace comedy in his routines.
He added: "I hope so, but at the same time I really am looking forward to doing the serious stuff as well, almost kind of putting that aside and showing them another side of me.
“But to go on 'Strictly' and completely ignore that would be ridiculous. CBBC is where I came from, that’s my home at the moment.
“So I obviously want to show that humour – humour is a big part of me.
“So I look forward to kind of bringing the energy, that’s always been my biggest strength with presenting and being on TV, and I think that’s what I’m going to take with me on to the dancefloor and hopefully it will see me through."
However, Rhys is also keen to "scare people" by bringing an extra level of intensity - and he could even borrow from Liam Neeson's role in 'Taken' as added inspiration.
He said: “I can’t wait to kind of scare people. I want people to look and go ‘Oh, that’s a bit intense, I didn’t know Rhys could do that’.
“I’ll be in the mirror just practising that face, maybe I’ll start doing the Liam Neeson Taken line just to get me into the mode.
“I can’t wait to show that different side of me.”
As he prepares for the series, Rhys has also received some tips from fellow CBBC presenter Karim Zeroual after his own 'Strictly' experience.
He revealed: "He gave me a lot of great advice, just kind of how hard you’ve got to work, balancing between doing CBBC and doing 'Strictly', and he gave me some really good advice on managing my life whilst doing the show.”
'Strictly Come Dancing' returns to BBC One with the launch show on September 18.
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