Strictly’s Ross King teased by Gary Barlow about being ‘cut’ from the show

Take That singer Gary Barlow has joked with Strictly Come Dancing contestant Ross King he will be “cut from the show”.

TV showbiz reporter King also said that actor Gerard Butler laughed for minutes after learning he was going to be on the hit BBC programme – which pairs celebrities with professional dancers.

King has been paired with Jowita Przytal, who lifted the Glitterball trophy in 2022 with wildlife cameraman and CBeebies star Hamza Yassin.

With the pair training for eight hours a day, the Scot said it was “great fun but it’s really, really hard”, adding it was “a lot harder than I thought it would be”.

He spoke about his experience ahead of the first live show of the current series of Strictly Come Dancing, which airs on BBC One on Saturday.

Speaking to the Saturday Show on BBC Radio Scotland, King said: “I am loving every single minute of this, I genuinely am.”

The showbiz reporter revealed the reaction of some of his famous contacts to his taking part in this year’s contest.

He told how he has been staying near Barlow’s studio, and met the singer when he went for coffee.

King said: “Gary was really funny, he said ‘the great thing is Ross you’re going to get really cut’.

“I went ‘what do you mean, body wise?’ and he said ‘No, you’re going to get cut from the show’.”

King went on to describe Scottish actor Gerard Butler’s reaction to him taking to the dance floor.

He said: “I didn’t tell Gerry I was doing it until I was announced. He was in Spain with one of my friends, they said ‘Ross is going to be in Strictly Come Dancing’ and apparently it took about three minutes for him to stop laughing.”

The TV presenter, who is best known for being the LA correspondent for ITV programmes Lorraine and Good Morning Britain, also said he was going to introduce his Polish professional dance partner to “all aspects of Scotland”.

As part of this King revealed he has already taught her the Scottish slang word for bottom – bahookie – with Przystał joking: ” I think the bahookie will be out of control.”

Meanwhile, with Love Island winner Dani Dyer-Bowen having been forced to pull out of the contest after fracturing her ankle, King said he had become “ridiculously cautious”.

He said that he now gets out of the bath “really gently” to try to avoid slips or injuries, adding: “It really is funny, I have become ridiculously cautious about things.”